


Always There: Book One

by Ayyyy (thatanimelover)



Series: Always There [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Child Abuse, Gen, Good Slytherins, Mentor Severus Snape, Necromancy, Slytherin Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2018-06-09 04:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6889525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatanimelover/pseuds/Ayyyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Harry Potter finds two strangers partly in his cupboard at the age of four, he is introduced to the world he should have known at a young age. Through his early knowledge of the world he will one day inhabit, Harry Potter manages to end up in Slytherin, trapped under the constant supervision of one of his mother's supposed childhood friends, and ends up uniting the school better than any other person had done since the Founding. While the story stays the same, the details change significantly, and the fate Harry Potter and his loved ones were meant to face finds itself twisted to suit the needs of the dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When Four-Year-Olds Meet Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry to say it, but I have decided to abandon Secrets Still Exist. Believe me when I say that I REALLY, TRULY, made an effort to continue the story. I did. But Uncle Rick just keeps adding onto canon, and I simply cannot distort his canon without knowing all of the details and plot-lines. I might continue it someday, if he ever stops writing (which would be sad in its own way), but I'm going to erase the only copy up on Archive of our Own for now, because I have no plans of continuing the story. 
> 
> On the other hand, I have decided to start THIS puppy right here. I am IN LOVE with this AU so much, and I have had this plot bunny sitting in my files for months now. I actually DO have a complete plotline for this one (or at least I actually know where I'm going with it). And, I'm going to be posting 2k chapters, rather than my normal 5k, so I won't feel stressed out to write some super long chapter before I actually post it. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story!

     Harry had always known that he wasn't normal. After all, there are several aspects of his life that certainly never matched up to those of _normal_ people, as his Aunt Petunia would say. For one, normal people didn't grow up locked away in a cupboard.  

     Harry remembers it well. It’s hard to forget when he was basically locked inside the damn thing until yesterday. The cramped space was small, and the only reason he could sit up inside of the area was because of his tiny size, caused by years of undernourishment. The tiny cot that was stuffed into the space and passed as Harry’s bed was old, dirty, and ripped in certain areas. Harry managed the rips by learning to sew, but another one always showed up unexpectedly. There was a small shelf nailed onto the stairs where Harry had kept a few small valuables, such as a few old, blunted crayons and several broken army men that his cousin Dudley had purposely destroyed just hours after he had gotten the small, green toys. The area, no matter how many times Harry tried to clean it, was always covered in an impenetrable layer of dust.   

     Harry can't remember ever sleeping outside of his cupboard, other than those few times that he slept at Mrs. Figg's house. Mrs. Figg, a crazy old cat lady and squib that often took care of Harry when the Dursleys were out of town, was his neighbor. Harry liked her well enough, but having several cats around the house always gave the place a strange smell. As much as he hated it, he would rather stay inside the cupboard for several days on end than stay with Mrs. Figg, if nothing else than to escape her hoard of cats. The lady, on the other hand, always treated Harry nicely and had even tried to redirect Uncle Vernon’s anger so that Harry wouldn't get the blunt of it. Unfortunately, her defense of Harry had simply left his backside more sore that day than it had been at any other time that he had stayed with the Dursleys.  

     The Dursleys detest Harry. They would rather swallow a vial of poison and dive into a piranha-infested river than spend five minutes around Harry. Perhaps, if he were more naïve to his abilities, Harry would take that hatred and twist it into words that fueled his own self-hatred, but he wasn't naïve enough to believe anything the Dursleys told him, and he _definitely_ isn't going to start now.   

     The Dursleys’ hatred inevitably meant that Harry was subjected to often cruel and undeserved punishments. He feared for his life every time that his Uncle Vernon turned purple from anger. Purple is the color of bruised skin after a particularly bad beating. The only color worse than purple is brown, as in brown for the leather belt that Vernon would unhook from his trousers so that he could whip Harry senseless. Vernon often left Dudley to deal with Harry, but he chose _special_ circumstances to deal Harry his own fair share of cruelty. Mainly, those punishments came on the days Harry’s magic decided it was a good idea to make an unexpected guest appearance in the monstrosity that is Harry’s life. Throughout his short life, Harry can remember times when Petunia would grab a pan and smack Harry atop the head because he said something about or related to magic. Fortunately, Harry had only needed a few beatings with the pan when he was about four until it sunk in that magic is a no-no around the lanky, stern woman. He can remember times when Dudley would grab his shoulders, push him on the ground, and proceed to kick Harry around alongside his equally-cruel friends. They’re all pretty bad memories, but the worst of them are definitely the times when the belt’s leather would rip through Harry’s skin and cause stinging pain for several days as the untreated wounds tried to heal without help. Harry knows the only reason that he survived some of Vernon’s beatings are because he learned to keep a small, stolen first aid kit in his cupboard that he used to disinfect and treat the wounds.   

     After years of practice, Harry became a good secret keeper. He knew how to hide his wounds and he learned how to withstand constant pain. He would have been much more cruelly punished at this point if he didn't learn his main survival skill: sneakiness. Without it, Harry would have never managed to hide the wounds on his arms from his teachers or come up with the stories as to why he had a black eye. He knew that his treatment isn't normal, but he was too accustomed to hiding his secrets that he eventually began to not care. He doesn't know when it happened, but at some point, he even began to _fear_ that someone else would find his wounds and treatment him as a weak, defenseless idiot. His teachers never believed him before. Harry learned not to pin his hopes on a teacher because the Dursleys would simply come up with some simple lie for his bruises. The whippings only happened on the areas of his body that were invisible to the general public, and he didn't want to risk showing them to a teacher in the case that that person refused to believe him. Again. So the easiest thing was to simply continue living with the pain.   

     Obviously, the cupboard is the lesser of the three reasons for which Harry realizes his differences. There are two others, one of which is derived from another. For one, Harry has magic. He’s known that he has magic since he can remember. It was simply always there, but Harry was always careful to hide it from his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. They never liked magic and Harry wasn't stupid enough to risk another beating that he could avoid.   

     Several times throughout his life, Harry demonstrated his own magical abilities. One time, his Aunt Petunia had given him the most horrid haircut that had ever existed. It had grown back overnight and with it came a harsh beatings at the hands of one very purple Uncle Vernon. Another time, he was being chased through the playground by an extremely vindictive Dudley and had suddenly apparated to the top of the school building. That beating left Harry out of school for three days. Luckily, Harry was fairly young in both of those incidents and had learned how to mostly control his emotions so that his accidental magic didn't explode by age eight.   

     Plus, he never let anything that happened to him convince him that he was worthless or a so-called “freak”. He learned to ignore the Dursleys’ taunts at a young age, especially when there were two people constantly reminding him that they loved him and wished they could help him escape the toxic environment that he had been forced into. Oh, yeah. There’s the third thing Harry is pretty sure normal people can’t do: talk to the dead.   

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Harry’s earliest memory of his mum and dad happened after one of Vernon’s very first beatings at the age of four. He had been told constantly that his parents had died in a car accident caused by his drunk father when he was only a year old. Harry doesn't know what triggered his necromancy, but one moment he was huddled in his cupboard, trying to stop the crying and the pain from the belt’s wounds. The next, Harry had shot upright and backed into a corner when he saw a translucent manifestation in front of his eyes.   

     At that time, Harry was too naïve to even know what a ghost was, and he had never seen any pictures of either of his parents. All he knew was that two strangers, whose bottom halves were hidden underneath the cot inside his cupboard, were suddenly staring at Harry with pity and burning, raging fury in their eyes.   

     Harry had simply stayed huddled, not wanting to attract their attention, but it had been too late. Slowly, the man, whose eyes were wide with astonishment, reached towards Harry, but Harry refused to let him get nearer. He tried to back away a little more, but it was impossible. He was already squeezed too far into the corner.  

     The man and woman both gasped. “Harry…can you hear us?” the woman, whose hair flowed around her in waves and whose eyes looked so sad, yet so immensely happy, said.  

     Harry considered his response for a moment. He had been told not to talk to strangers but…these people couldn't possibly be strangers, could they? Not if they knew his name and were in his locked cupboard. After a moment longer of consideration, he gave the two adults a slow, cautious nod.   

     What happened was a shock. The two adults hugged each other and started whispering fiercely. Harry could only catch small glimpses here and there of the conversation. Most of it, he was unable to understand.  

     “….necromancer? ...maybe…from _him_?” The women asked the man.  

     “…don’t think so…too young…developing magic….” The man replied, his brows furrowed in a mixture of thought and confusion.   

     Harry, for the first time in a long time, decided to say something. He wouldn’t normally talk, but he knew for sure that his Aunt Petunia had gone with Dudley to the grocers and his Uncle Vernon had slammed the front door shut only a few seconds after he had locked Harry in his cupboard. If he wanted to risk disobeying them, it was now that they were gone and he had a reason to.  

     “W-wha' awe you doing hewe?” Harry asked, ignoring the shakiness of his stuttering voice.   

     Both adults turned to him abruptly. The woman furrowed her eyebrows. “Harry…don’t you know who we are?”  

     Harry shook his head. "Auntie Petuna won' lemme out.”  

     The man scowled. Under his breath, he muttered, “Of course you don’t and _of course_ she doesn’t.”  

     “James, now is not the time,” Lily mumbled. Then, in a louder voice, she stated, “Harry, we’re your mum and dad.”  

     Almost immediately, Harry felt his mood get better. Nowadays, he realizes he probably _should've_ been skeptical of two random adults telling him that they're his parents, but he was a naïve four-year-old then. He couldn't even pronounce words correctly, let alone distinguish a truth from a lie. To a small four year old, meeting the parents he thought were dead may have perhaps been the best gift he received from the Dursleys, since it was _the_ _ir_ treatment that had awoken his dark magic abilities. 

     Harry had almost forgotten about his wounded back when he leaned forward and let out a small whimper. The man and woman, his dad and mum, apparently, gritted their teeth and glared in the direction of the doorway.   

     The woman inhaled deeply before she turned to Harry with a gentle smile. “Harry, can you show us your back?” she asked softly, although her voice was tense. Harry nodded tentatively and turned around. He heard two loud intakes of breath. 

     Several tense moments passed. Harry didn't want to move, in case the adults got angry. After all, what was stopping them from adding to the injury on his back. They may say they're his parents, but adults in general cannot be trusted.    

     “You can turn around now, son,” the man said, his voice husky but gentle.  

     Harry didn’t know why, but warmth almost immediately coursed through him when he heard the term of endearment. Mrs. Figg used his name regularly, but always monotonously. The Dursleys only ever called him "freak" or "boy." No one had ever called him "son." The warmth coursing through his body stayed, albeit his shirtless state and the open wounds on his back. 

     Harry turned around, sat cross-legged on his cot, and looked at the man and woman curiously. He had never seen people like them. He extended a a small, bony index finger out to his mother’s stomach, but pulled back almost immediately with a shiver when he felt his finger become engulfed with paralyzing numbness. Even at four, when he had no words to describe the sensation of death, he knew his parents were plagued by that very thing.  

     “You dea', righ'?” Harry asked curiously. Almost immediately, the two adults’ expressions dimmed and their smiles faded. Warmth left the air, and Harry shivered again. It was the only thing he could seem to do at the saddened expression on both the adults' faces.  

     Softly, as if trying not to cause an explosion, the woman nodded and said, “Yes, Harry.”  

     Harry understood, even at the young age of four, the consequences of dying. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had harshly instilled _that_ one into him, saying that he would never see his parents because they were dead and buried. Even so, it was hard to imagine the man and woman in front of him, full of emotion and life, as _dead_.  The only thing that gave it away was the sensation of paralyzing numbness that came from touching those who are dead.  

     Harry nodded in a childish form of understanding, then quickly thought of another question. “Wha' awe yo' names?” Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, as much as they liked to tell him about his drunk, reckless parents, only ever told him as much. Names were never mentioned, and questions about his parents were as taboo as questions about "otherworldly" topics.  

     The man and woman stared at each other with furrowed eyebrows. Simultaneously, they said a variety of words whose meanings Harry could not comprehend at such a pure and untainted age. Even Vernon and Petunia knew not to curse in front of him.   

     The man looked back at him, gave a bright smile, and said, “I’m James Potter, Harry.”  

     “Yew my da’, righ'?” Harry asked excitedly, and bounced as James nodded in response, the pain in his back all but forgotten. “If yew my pa’ and yew a Potta', then imma a Potta'. Righ'?” At that age, Harry didn't even know his last name. Even something so simple was a precious gift that Harry was unwilling to give up in any circumstance. 

     James gave a brilliant smile. “You’re right, kiddo. Lily, we gave birth to a smart kid,” he said, beaming in the woman’s direction.  

     Lily gave a soft smile. It wasn’t as bright as James’s, but it was equally as affectionate. She looked at her husband as if he was the brightest thing in her world. Which he probably was, looking back at it.   

     “Yew my muh, righ'?” Harry asked the woman named Lily.   

     “Yes, my love, I am,” Lily said with the same soft smile that she gave her husband.   

     Harry hummed for a moment, having completely forgotten about the welts and cuts on his back. Then, he sat upright and gave them a wide smile, wider than he had ever smiled before. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before he finally remembered the "etiquette" lesson that Petunia had slammed—literally—into him. "Nice ta mee' ya', muh and da'."  

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     That was Harry's first encounter with his parents, necromancy, and his magical inheritance. He would never realize that his necromantic abilities would subtly, yet significantly change the stream of time, and create a much happier world than the one he had been destined to endure. 


	2. Supposed to Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't fail with young Harry Potter's speech. If I did, I am INCREDIBLY sorry, and I would really appreciate any tips you have for the speaking style of young children. It would be awfully helpful if you feel that I should make corrections or dumb down the speech somewhere. 
> 
> On another note, I wanted to have all of Harry's pre-Hogwarts years out of the way in this chapter, but it's A LOT of history I plan to cover, so I split this chapter in two, and it might end up in three pieces if it gets a lot longer. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy, and leave a comment if you can! We always appreciate comments! And thank you to those of you that have left kudos on this tentative work. It's kindly appreciated.

     Harry's life was one long history full of pain, bitterness, and emptiness. At the same time, he always knew that there was love, support, and help whenever he needed it. Perhaps his parents couldn't help him physically, but Harry could always count on them for advice, and they certainly did a splendid job training him to keep secrets and tell lies. Most people might have see that as awful parenting, but most people didn't depend on secrets and lies to save them from imminent death at the hands of vindictive relatives.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

    Early in his encounters with his parents, Harry was unable to control his power. He didn't know how to control his clairvoyance and did not know how to use his magic to constantly notice their presence. While Lily and James could freely enter and exit the world of the living, they could not force someone to see them until that person made the first effort to interact with them. They could watch, but not interact, not until the next time Harry opened up his power.    

     Unfortunately, the next time Harry saw his parents was only a few days after their first encounter. Harry, too innocent to understand the consequences of suggesting the ability to see the dead, had to endure another harsh beating at the hands of his uncle.  

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry that you had to be placed with my sister. I--," Lily paused, slouching the best she could as a ghost. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you."  

     "Lily, it's alright," James said, trying to comfort his wife as he placed his arms around her.  

     "No, it's not! Dumbledore is at fault for this, the absolute as--." 

     "Lily."  

     At that, Lily slouched completely and floated to her son. Harry was still crying and scrunched up into the ball he had immediately entered the moment he had been shoved back into his cupboard. Lily waved her hand near his head. It was the closest she could get to comforting Harry without attacking him with the same paralyzing numbness as before. 

      For several minutes, Harry laid there, crying. Lily could hear the sobs—quiet enough as to not wake up the perpetrators—and felt another piece of her nonexistent heart ripping from her body. She felt her own throat close, and resisted the urge to start crying as well. Her only son had been placed in the worst environment possible, and her careless preparations were completely at fault for this. 

     Even after Harry fell asleep, Lily stayed. She would not leave her son to endure his pain alone, even in his unconscious state. Also, she owed him an explanation, for his protection if nothing else. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Harry opened his eyes. He could still feel the stinging pain on his back, worse than the time before only because of the layered and reopened wounds. He looked around and jumped when he saw a silver shape in front of him. His mum. 

     Harry, still childlike and innocent, smiled happily and said, "Muh!"  

     "Good morning, sweetheart," Lily smiled softly at her child.  

     Harry looked around, looking for the other half of the duo. When he could not find his dad, Harry asked, "Da'?" 

     A voice behind him said, "Right here, kiddo." Harry looked around and saw the overtowering form of James Potter half-sunk underneath Harry's cot.  

     When Harry turned towards his mother again, she smiled softly at him before her face went blank. "Harry, you can't tell Aunt Petunia about us." 

     Harry, his young mind remembering the horrors of the previous day, nodded solemnly. He didn't question, didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He had been taught not to.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     While his parents were constantly visible from then on, Harry didn't largely rely on them for support. Instead, throughout his younger years, they supported him and guided him through the torturous years before he received his Hogwarts letter. They were a constant anchor of happiness and love among the pain and neglect of the Dursley household.  

     While Lily and James may not have realized it, they were what kept Harry healthy and sane during his time at the Dursleys. He didn't endure the punishments and come out unscathed, but he certainly didn't allow himself to fall to the hopelessness that the Dursleys were trying to instill into him—at least not once he was old enough to control his emotions and reactions.  

     At the age of six, after a harsh beating for a bout of accidental magic, Harry finally received an explanation about his magic and the wizarding world. While Harry's parents had hoped they could wait until he was old enough to understand why he was forced to stay with the Dursleys, they knew that they could not longer wait. Age six also brought sadness and melancholy among the Potter family, for it was that very same day that Harry discovered the long-kept secret of his parents' death.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     "Why?" Harry asked quietly. He could not understand why he received a beating every time something strange happened. This time, it hadn't even been his fault, yet he had still been punished for the incident. "It wasn't my fault."  

     Harry slouched in his cupboard, hiding as far in the corner as he could. He didn't want his parents to see him beat again. They would simply worry again, and he didn't want them to worry over someone like him.  

     "Aunt Petunia's a b--," James started, but was cut off by a wack to the head from Lily.  

     "Aunt Petunia doesn't understand how unique you are," Lily told him softly, as she had several times before. This time, it wasn't enough. 

     "Why? Why can I do the freaky stuff," Harry said. "Why can I see you? Why am I a freak?"  

     "Harry James, you are _not_ a freak!" Lily exclaimed in shock. She had heard the term used before, but it wasn't until now that she realized exactly how much Harry actually believed it.  

     "Am so. Dudley said so," Harry disappointedly said as he scrunched up into a ball and looked at the ground.  

     "Dudley's an idiot," James said as he glared in the direction of the cupboard door. "So are Petunia and Vernon." 

     "Doesn't change that I'm a freak," Harry muttered as he glared at the ground. He didn't understand why it was him that was stuck doing the freaky things. Why couldn't someone else be blamed for something bad for once? 

     "Harry! You do not do freaky things and you are _not_ a freak!" Lily exclaimed yet again, nearing her son as she stood beside him, the floor separating her upper body from her lower half. 

     "Then why does Aunt Petunia get mad whenever something weird happens?"  

     Lily and James looked at each other. They didn't want to expose Harry to magic, especially when Petunia and Vernon were always on the watch for anything strange going on, but they didn't want their son continuing with his self-esteem issues. Hopefully, neither their deaths nor Dumbledore's reasoning for setting Harry with the Dursleys would come up.  

     "You're not doing freaky things, Harry. You're doing magic," James declared. Almost immediately, Harry flinched. James frowned and added, "No matter what Petunia and Vernon tell you, that's not a bad thing."  

     Harry scrunched his eyebrows and looked up at his father. "It's not?" 

     "No, Harry, it's not. You're not a bad person for doing magic. Petunia and Vernon are bad people because they won't let you do what you were born to do." 

     "Born...to...do?" Harry murmured and stared with curiosity. 

     "Yes, Harry. Born to do. Your mum was a witch and I was a wizard when we were alive. You're also a wizard," James stated proudly. "We're proud of you, Harry, even if your Aunt and Uncle are not." 

     "Really?" Harry asked, his eyes watering. His parents were proud of him! His aunt and uncle were wrong. His parents weren't good-for-nothings! They were magical! 

     "Yes, Harry." 

     Harry frowned again. "Is that why they hate me?"  

     Lily stared at her son with sadness. He had grown up with hatred and pain. He had never experienced any sort of love from his relatives. She clenched her teeth and held back a growl and the unattainable urge to hex her sister and Vernon. "Yes," she answered huskily.  

     Harry nodded in understanding. He didn't need explanations or excuses. They hated him. They would never like him because he would never be a "normal" person like them. If his parents were proud of him, than that was alright with him.  

     Before the topic could be changed, Harry thought of another question. If his parents were dead, was magic the reason he could see them? Is that why his aunt and uncle were so angry when he told them about his ability. Not because it was strange, but because it was _magic_? "Can I see you 'cause of magic?"  

     James nodded eagerly, "Yes, Harry. But you can't tell anyone about magic unless they also have magic. There are people out there like Petunia and Vernon that don't like people like us. And don't _ever_ tell anyone that you can see us unless we tell you it's okay." 

     "Why did you die?" Harry blurted out suddenly. He wanted to know if his parents actually died in a car crash. Were his parents actually drunks? Did they leave him because they liked beer too much? 

     "Harry, you're only six. It might be too early to be asking this," Lily stated almost immediately.  

     "No I'm not! I wanna know if Aunt Petunia is right!"  

     Lily, about to admonish her child for his behavior, was interrupted by James. "Lil', he's going to have to find out sooner or later. Ignorance isn't going to help him." 

     "But James--"  

     "Lily! You know we can't keep him locked up forever. If we don't tell him now, he'll be angry at us once he's exposed to the truth in the wizarding world!"  

     Looking once more at her son, Lily decided to go along with James. He had a point. She didn’t want her son growing up sheltered like Petunia was doing to her own. She wanted Harry to be able to do whatever possible with the information he had. She gave her nod of approval, and James gave her his adorable smile. 

     "What did Petunia and Vernon tell you, Harry?" James asked his son. He was not prepared for the lies, although he certainly should have expected them. 

     "They said you were drunks. You died in a car crash." Harry stared at his father's face, trying to determine if that was the truth or not. 

     James sputtered and held back an array of insults and curse words. Instead, he calmed himself down. "No, Harry. We did _not_ die from a car crash, and we were _not_ drunks. We would've never left you if we had had our say, but..." 

     "But that wasn't the case," Lily finished as she floated to sit cross legged beside her son, although she could still feel herself sinking into the cupboard floor. "Harry, we lived in a dangerous world. We did not die in an accident, or even because of a disease. We died because an evil man killed us."  

     A gasp came out of Harry's mouth, and he looked at both his mother and father. "Killed? But you were wizards!" 

     "Even wizards can be killed, Harry," James explained patiently.  

     "You were wizards! With spells! And wands!"  

     "Yes, but so did Voldemort." 

     "Voldemort...the man who killed you?" Harry asked.  

     James gave his son a nod. Harry looked down at the ground. "Why would he want to kill you? You never did anything to him..."  

     "No, we never did. But he did many horrible things to the wizarding world— _our_ world," James said, giving his son an unsure smile.  

      Harry did not respond for several minutes. Then, he said, "Well, he killed you, but I can still see you! You're still here. So it doesn't matter." Harry grinned brightly, and gave a slight bounce in his seat. His parents grinned back at him. Perhaps things might actually be okay this way.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Throughout the following months, Harry learned about the world that he would not see for another five or so years. He learned about Hogwarts and his future as a student, about Miss Figg and squibs, about blood status in the wizarding world and his own status, and about Voldemort. From the first mention of the wizard, Harry hated him. He killed his family, and, as he later learned, the families of several hundreds of other people. He was the reason Harry was with the Dursleys, the reason why everyone at school made fun of his scar.  

     At the same time, Harry learned that revenge was useless. His parents were efficient in warning him that hate consumed people and is the reason why Tom Riddle became Voldemort in the first place. Since Harry did not want to become another Voldemort, he learned to let go of his hatred. In the same way, Harry learned to let go of his hatred for the Dursleys, and instead waited patiently for the day when he could escape the confines of the house he had been cursed to live in. He found no pleasure in the abusive household of his relatives, but he could wait for that time to come when he would be subject to the Dursleys' cruelty for only a few months a year.


	3. Learning Magic and Abuse Survival Skills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the kudos I've received! Here's a new chapter!! After this one, the plot finally starts, so you only have to suffer this last chapter! Sorry the history took so long. Now we get into actual Hogwarts letters and etc. And to those who have left comments, thank you! I appreciate that you take the time to leave them! Sorry if I left spoilers for upcoming chapters in the comment =/ Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Once again, sorry for any mistakes and feel free to correct me on them! And if you find my writing style boring, please tell me early on so I can fix that!

     Harry may have learned patience early on and become quite fatalistic about his situation as an orphan given to the reluctant Dursleys for care, but emotional control came a lot harder. Accidental magic, especially early in his magical development, was a common occurrence, and so were the subsequent beatings at the hands of Vernon. It was after another bout of accidental magic—one of his last—that Harry began his training as a wizard. It was early and abrupt, but he would come to realize the amount of confidence that he would gain from the experience. Not only did he need the confidence, but it would come useful in a young life full of prejudice and bullies.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     "Harry, what happened? I thought you could control yourself?" Lily asked her son as she sat in front of him, hovering her hand over his cheek but ensuring that she did not touch him.  

     "I don't know!" Harry exclaimed into his knees. "I was just really angry!"  

     "It's alright, Harry. You're seven. We can't expect you to be able to control your magic," James said from beside Harry. 

     "So you're not angry?" Harry asked quietly as he peeked over his knees at his parents.  

     "No, Harry. We're not angry," Lily reassured her son. "We just don't want you to hurt."  

     "I don't want to either," Harry murmured as he played with a string at the hem of his over-sized jeans, ignoring the pain currently on his backside. He learned soon after his parents' first appearance not to cry. He could, if he wanted to, but he was determined to avoid showing the Durselys any weakness. They had no right to treat him the way they did, and he would not let them become his fear. 

     For several minutes, silence permeated the room as each member of the Potter family stayed lost in their thoughts. Harry continued to reflect on his actions from earlier, and where he went wrong. He didn't want to do it again, not if it would make his aunt and uncle angry. The happier he kept them, the better.  

     James reflected on his friend Sirius Black and the treatment he too had been subjected to because of his family. He reflected on Sirius's escape from his family when he was sixteen, and on his friend's subsequent and continuous support of James's own family. If only James had not chosen Peter as his secret keeper, his son would not have been subjected to this torture. While he wondered as to why Sirius had not been proven innocent—even a dose of veritaserum would've freed him—he did not ponder long on such a thought. It did not change the fact that Peter had been an erroneous choice as secret keeper. Sirius would've never allowed Harry to be treated the way the Dursleys treated him. If nothing else, it would've been too much of a reminder about his own life in the Black family. Still, the curiosity was insatiable without an answer, and James chose to voice his curiosity.  

     "Lil', why was Sirius not freed? Don't you think that a dose of veritaserum, even from Snape's stores, would've easily proven him innocent?" James asked his wife with curiosity. 

     Lily gave a frown. "You're right... I wonder why he was imprisoned without any evidence. It sure as hell wasn't him that killed us or those twelve muggles, and there's no way Peter is _actually_ dead, the traitorous rat." 

     "Who's Sirius?" Harry asked curiously, straightening up slightly at this new information, although continuing to avoid straining his back.  

     "Oh, yeah! We never told you, kiddo. Sirius was my best friend when I went to Hogwarts," James told his son with pride. "Sirius never thought before he did something, but he was loyal." James gave Lily a wink as he added, "Like a dog."  

     "What happened to him?" asked Harry as he stared at both his parents with large, wide eyes. James and Lily would much rather not go into complex details about their deaths, but they couldn't deny their son his answer. 

     "He went to jail for killing us," James said, and Harry's expression turned sad and horrified. Before Harry could speak, James quickly added, "But he was innocent! It was actually a rat that gave us away." 

     "A....rat?" Harry asked with a tilt of his head. He knew magic could do a lot, but it was hard to imagine that a rat was what caused his parents' deaths.  

     "Peter Pettigrew, someone that used to be our friend," Lily said calmly. She frowned as she remembered her old friend. He was loyal and loving, but he had a cowardice streak that not even the most self-preservative Slytherin could match. Speaking of Slytherin... 

     "I do wonder what Severus is doing nowadays, though. The last time I heard anything about him, he was going to be subjected to a Death Eater trial," Lily said, the statement directed towards her husband more than anything. Even so, Harry seemed to catch the keywords of the sentence. 

      "Who was Severus and why was he working for Voldemort?" Harry frowned as he thought about that.  

     "Severus Snape was my childhood friend, Harry." 

     "—and an absolute greasy git," James added under his breath. 

     "James! What did I tell you about talking bad about Severus?" exclaimed Lily with indignation.  

     "But Lily! He was a Death Eater!" James exclaimed angrily. 

     "That switched to the light!" Lily argued back.  

     "Because he wanted to sh--" James looked at Harry, but Lily got the just of his comment.  

     "So what? He spent the next fifteen months spying on Voldemort despite the danger!" 

     Harry had no idea what his parents were talking about other than the fact that they were arguing over a man and why or why not he deserved to be innocent. Harry didn't bother to ask questions, knowing that he would eventually get his responses. Instead he continued to listen to the conversation, hoping to glean any more information about his life those few months before Voldemort came along.  

     "He spent fifteen months spying on Voldemort for _you,_ Lily! He doesn't care about either myself or Harry, or have you forgotten that he completely ignored Harry when he found you in the bedroom?" James said smugly as he made his point.  

     "Does it change the fact that he spied on Voldemort? Does it change the fact that he was forced to go to a Death Eater trial that was no longer relevant? I don't know about you, James, but I like to think that people—even slimy Slytherins, as you so like to call them—are redeemable. Can you blame me for wanting Severus to be redeemable?" Lily whispered as she stared at the ground in pain. Every memory, every mistake, every prejudice flew back in her face with her husband's words. She knew Severus cared nothing for her husband or her son, but he was human, and he had once been her friend. One of her biggest hopes is that Severus had happily moved on with his life, had gone on to become renowned in the world for his potions, or perhaps his power.  

     Amongst those several memories, Lily remembered Severus as he had been as a teenager: alone, abused, and bitter to the world. She didn't think Severus was innocent. Oh, no. Severus was _far_ from innocent, especially now. But he was human. He still had feelings and sentiments. Even when they were children Severus had not been a nice nor forgiving person, but abuse was a cycle. Both Tobias Snape and the bullying of the Marauders had turned Severus into the person Lily regretted he had become. Perhaps he may not be vindictive now, but Lily feared that Severus had not moved on from his childhood, had suffered and passed on the pain and trauma he had suffered. 

     Suddenly, one specific memory came back to her. It was the day she had met the Slytherin, but that was not what interested her. Instead, she remembered the flower she had been extending and folding back in, and immediately brightened.  

     "That's it!" Lily exclaimed. 

     James frowned in confusion. "What now?" 

     "Harry, do you want to learn a trick?" Lily asked her son as she looked at him calmly. Harry tilted his head again as he stared at her in confusion. After a few seconds, he gave her an affirmative nod and a small smile. 

     "Okay, Harry. Do you still have that flower in here from your gardening yesterday?" Lily asked her son. 

     He nodded again and took it out from underneath his pillow. It was slightly wilted from lack of water and sunlight, but it still looked healthy enough for Lily's plan.  

     "Now, I want you to look at those petals, and try to fold them in. Can you do that for me?"  

      Harry nodded and began concentrating on his task, the pain at his back once again forgotten. For several minutes, he looked at the flower, willing it to fold into itself like it had been when he had found it yesterday morning. Even so, he could not make the flower fold. Frowning at his lack of ability, Harry looked up at his mum and said, "I can't do it." 

     "This is an easy trick, Harry. I wasn't much older than you when I did it. Just try it again," Lily told her son encouragingly. She wasn't lying. Folding the flower was easy, but it would require Harry some time before he could access his magic after trying to supress it for so long. Magic was like any other talent. If one did not practice, they became rusty and the muscles wouldn't be as willing to start working again. Even so, the magic was still there and the muscles still worked. Harry just needed to spend some time trying to force the flower's petals into a closed position. 

     For the next two days, Harry would try to close the flower amidst sleep and his overload of chores. On the third day, Harry finally managed to close the flower, but that was not all that happened. Not only did the flower close, but it also deaged, going back to a previous stage of growth. Lily and James had stared in astonishment as the small flower, nearly to its death point, had become a young bud again. The incident had reinforced two thoughts: Harry was indeed a necromancer, and Harry had much more power than either of them knew what to do.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     In the next several months, Harry learned many new things. One of his favorites was learning to control his magic. Once Lily and James realized that simple exercises like the flower would not be efficient in teaching Harry control over his magic, they began teaching him spells. They obviously did not think that he would be able to manage them wandlessly, but they hoped that Harry could get a feeling for what his magic felt like through summoning the magic from its passive state.  

     When James and Lily realized that Harry _could_ do wandless magic, and at a very young age at that, they began discussing what they could do and what they could teach Harry that would not harm his young body. They decided on an array of simply spells and charms that Harry managed over time. It took several weeks for Harry to learn one spell alone, but once learned, Harry was adept at redoing the spell. Things like the dark became entirely harmless when Harry learned to do a harmless _lumos_ , and his chores weren't nearly as arduous when heavy items could be floated to a specific place instead of carried. Unfortunately, Harry's newfound abilities came with a few drawbacks, one of which was Harry's parseltongue abilities. James and Lily were oblivious to his infamous talent for several more years than they cared to think about. It was quite a shock when the ability finally did come into the light, to say the least. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Harry was once again gardening, his eight-year-old body tolerating the work much better than when he was three, even if he was malnourished and scrawny for his age. He didn't care, really. Gardening was his favorite chore (at least when Dudley wasn't around) because Petunia never went outside herself and, therefore, left Harry to his own devices. Furthermore, Vernon was usually at work when Harry did his chores. The time he spent gardening was a reprieve, except for those incidents when he had to spend several days in the hot sun after a beating. During those days, Harry felt like the world could end in fire, and he would still be in less pain as he burned to death. Harry tried not to think of those days.  

     Suddenly, Harry accidentally hit something softer than the ground, and immediately panicked. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he had forgotten about the small animals hiding in the bushes away from the possible threat of Dudley (something Harry oftentimes envied them for). When he looked down, a garden snake was looking at him.  

     _"Was it you who hit me, human child?"_ the snake asked coldly.  

_"I think so. I'm sorry. I forgot animals walk through these bushes,"_ Harry replied sheepishly. 

     Meanwhile, a stunned James and Lily Potter were staring at the son with shock and dread. It wasn't the fact that Harry had just used a Dark ability that had gotten to them so much as it was the fact that Harry had just used a Dark ability that Voldemort had oftentimes taken advantage of. James knew of no one that had intermarried with his family that had the ability or known ancestors with the ability. The chances of Harry inheriting the ability from his own ancestors were impossible. Therefore, something else must be creating such a similarity, and war had taught James that coincidences don't exist.  

     The hissing continued as James and Lil discussed their next course of action. They didn't realize that Harry had stopped talking with the snake and started listening in on their conversation until they had scared him.  

     "Lily, we can't just not warn him." 

     "But what if we scare him?" Lily asked quietly, her eyes a million miles in the distance.  

     "Lil', we can't let him continue like this and then make a bad impression with one of those horrid children at his school," James said afterwards, his lips in a thin line. Scaring his son now was better than giving the children at Harry's school yet another reason to bully him.  

     James didn't have the option to make a decision, as Harry had heard the majority of the conversation and was backing away from his parents. "Why....why would I...be _scared_?" he asked in a whisper, afraid of the answer.  

     James and Lily both resisted the urge to smack their heads and gave Harry what they hoped were reassuring smiles. Unfortunately, the effect was lost on the small boy, who had backed up into the bushes. James vaguely heard something in the bushes move away, but he was too focused on the horrified expression on his son's face.  

     "Am I...is this... _freaky_?" Harry asked hoarsly, his throat dry with fear. His parents put up with a lot, but maybe this was the final straw. Maybe this would push them away. Maybe they would never want to see him again, and that was scarier than anything. It was scarier than the possiblity of getting another beating because he was speaking to a snake; Harry was old enough to know that speaking to animals wasn't normal among muggles. It was scarier than the threat of Dudley that sat beside the garden some days, waiting for him to make a mistake so that the meaty boy could attack him vigorously and sadistically. It was even scarier than the possibility of being locked up in his cupboard for the next week without his magic. After all, his parents were the only support he had in the dark and gloomy world that was his life. He couldn't lose them. If he did, there wouldn't be a reason for his existence; the Dursleys certainly didn't want him and the wizarding world had never come searching for their kind.  

     "No! Not freaky, sweetheart!" Lily exclaimed as she _floated_ over to her son. Landing beside him, she crossed her legs and said, "It's unique, and very, _very_ rare." 

     Harry sat there for a few minutes, afraid that any further action would push his mother away. Although he tried—he truly did—to keep his curiosity in check, Harry soon gave into it. "Rare?" Harry asked quietly, looking at the ground to avoid what he believed would be malice within the eyes of both his parents.  

     "Harry, very few people in our world can speak to snakes. The two most famous ones weren't very nice guys," Lily explained, deciding to avoid any mention of Voldemort. Harry, in her opinion, didn't need to grow up knowing the similarities between himself and the worst human being the wizarding world had seen since before Grindelwald. "It's okay to talk to snakes. It's a very special gift. We just don't want people hurting you because you have it."  

     Harry sat quietly, taking a glance to the window to make sure Petunia wasn't looking at him (and sighing in relief when he saw the curtains shut). Special, his mother had said. Hurting you, his mother had also said. "Is...would they hurt me because of those others?" 

     Lily contemplated her next answer with James. Harry really was too young for all of this, but how would he feel when he found out the hard way? It was simply better if Harry knew the story without getting the details. Plus, Lily had sworn that she would not prejudice her son to one house or another. Lord knew that there was already enough prejudice as it is, and Lily refused to expose her son to it. The hat would sort him where he belonged, and Lily refused to run interference at all.  

     After a nod from James, Lily gave Harry her best reassuring smile—this time completely real—and said, "Yes, but just because they were bad doesn't mean you are. It's okay. We still love you. You're still you." 

     Harry smiled a tentative smile. "You're not angry?" he asked shyly as he looked up through thin, dark lashes. 

     Lily shook her head. "No, we're not." She gave her son a wide smile, who nodded in relief. In Harry's eyes, if his parents weren't angry, then everything was alright.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     At some point in Harry's short life, he had tried telling his teachers about his aunt and uncle. The worry could be seen in their eyes, but that hadn't stopped them from ignoring his problems when Petunia and Vernon lied straight through smug smiles about his injuries and malnourishment. That had been the last time Harry tried to tell his teachers anything. It was just easier if he stole one of the school's first aid kits, which Harry had stuffed into his open backpack with a muttered _wingardium leviosa_. Harry learned through his ninth year of life the basics of first aid, although healing spells were untouched due to their difficulty. After that first incident, James and Lily had given up trying to convince their son, who trusted adults about as much as he could throw them—as a nine-year-old child, that was quite a heavy statement—to tell someone about his home life.  

     In Harry's eyes, adults were liars, abusers, and traitors. The only adults he trusted were his parents, and children were no better. Dudley scared away any possible friends, if they didn't already judge him for his baggy clothes and small stature. He only trusted two people, and they couldn't do much for him. He only hoped that Hogwarts would offer something better than the Hell that was Number 4, Privet Drive.


	4. Hogwarts Letters and Besting the Dursleys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for the kudos! You can tell how excited I was to update this chapter by how quickly I wrote it (THREE DAYS. That has to be a personal record). I'm excited for you guys to read this chapter because this is where the action starts picking up. Hopefully, you guys like it! And please tell me if a character is out of character or acts strangely. Thank you for reading my fanfiction and giving it a chance!

     It was a sunny day when Harry first heard about the plans to retrieve his Hogwarts letter. Harry had been enjoying the gardening for the first time in several days, the sun warming his face for once instead of burning the now-healed welts and cuts on his back. He hummed a song he had heard on the radio the day before as he had rested inside of his cupboard and happily pulled on weeds and watered the plants. Harry didn't notice that a small pair of beady eyes was watching him from the other side of the bushes until he heard the animal hiss. 

     " _Human boy, do your guardians not feed you?_ " the snake asked him. It took Harry a few moments to recognize the now much longer and bigger snake as the grass snake that he had hit with his trowel several years ago. 

     " _Do you always come here? There aren't many mice._ " Harry ignored the snake's previous question. He didn't feel a need to answer it.  

     " _I like the challenge of hunting. Your family doesn't always manage to kill all of the mice_ _. And the garden is pleasing. Except for that horrid beast that comes trampling here every few days_ ," the snake explained as its tongue flicked out, it's slick greyish-green body readjusting itself to coil.  

     Harry chuckled. _"Yeah_. _Dudley's not very nice_."  

     _"It's has a name_ _!?_ " exclaimed the reptile while lifting it's head as a form of shock.  

     Harry resisted the urge to laugh and stifled his giggles with a cough. " _Yeah. He's my cousin_. _His parents own this house_."  

     " _You're nothing like them, human boy_. _Why do you stay?_ "  

     Harry, completely unfazed, had no qualms about giving his reply. " _My parents are dead_." 

     The snake looked around and gave a nod. " _Ah, yes. I can see their spirits hovering over you_." 

     Harry lifted his head in shock and looked behind him. As the snake had said, his parents were standing behind him, wearing identical expressions of happiness and worry. Harry gave them a happy smile to reassure them that he was okay, then turned back to his new friend.  

     " _You can see spirits?_ " Harry asked curiously as he inched a few feet to the left to continue pulling weeds while he continued his conversation with the snake.  

     The snake moved alongside him, away from his hiding place. " _Yes, human boy. Animals are more in tune with nature and its magic than humans_ ," the snake replied as it relaxed in the sun outside of the bushes.  

     " _I can see them_ ," Harry replied in argument. " _Mum_ _and dad tell me I'm a necromancer._ "  

     " _Ah. You are strong, young wizard."_  

" _You can tell the difference?_ " 

     The snake nodded. Harry talked to it for a while longer as he did the gardening until Dudley entered the garden and Harry told the snake to hide. Unfortunately, Dudley stepped on a few of the flowers and placed the blame on Harry. He was forced to go without a meal and redo that entire section of Petunia's garden. 

     Luckily for him, it also meant privacy. Harry was able to speak to his parents freely without worrying about alerting Petunia and Vernon about their conversation.  

     "Are you excited, Harry?" Lily asked her son as she sat cross-legged beside the area where he was gardening.  

     "About what?" Harry asked, staring at her in confusion. He couldn't remember any specific events that he was supposed to be excited for. 

     "Your eleventh birthday, kiddo! It's in two weeks!" James exclaimed as he leaned forward.  

     "Ah," Harry replied, unknowing what to say. "My birthday's nothing new. I'm scared that my letter won't come, and that I'll be trapped in this family for another seven years."  

     Lily's expression went dark, but she took a few deep breaths—out of habit more than anything else—and stared back at her son. "You'll receive your letter. You've done magic, you have powers only wizards can have, and you can see _us_. If you don't receive your letter, someone's going to have to go slap the useless trash at the Ministry."  

     Harry smiled at his mother's rant. "Maybe. How will I even sneak it past Vernon?"  

     "Easy. Knowing those pigs, they'll probably make you grab the post for the morning it arrives. It's been your job since you were six. Your letter will come by owl into the mail slot. When they make you grab the mail, hide your letter inside of Petunia's prized vase beside the door. Dudley won't dare get near the vase, and Petunia always puts you in charge of cleaning it anyway," Harry's dad replied confidently. Harry still wasn't sure about this, though.  

     "What if Petunia sees it?" 

     "She won't, Prongslet," replied Harry's mother with his recently acquired nickname. "For one, Petunia's not very observant in regards to anything that doesn't involve you. For another, that vase is too big and narrow at the top. It'll be too dark inside of the vase for Petunia to notice anything strange. You can grab it from there later that day when Dudley isn't home and you're doing your inside chores." 

     Harry nodded in understanding. "What do I do when I get it?"  

     "If Minerva is still the Deputy Headmistress, you can send her a letter with no return address explaining your situation. Hopefully, she'll send someone to pick you up for your school supplies," James said.  

     "Why no return address?" Harry asked in confusion as he pulled at another weed.  

     "Harry, Petunia was the last, _final_  place we wanted you to go. Albus Dumbledore put you here against our wishes when we had a _dozen_  people in line for your custody named in our will," James explained darkly, a fierce expression on his face. "I don't know how much we can trust the Headmaster right now."  

     Once again, Harry nodded. "Okay. I can do what you told me. But what if I get caught?" The dark-haired boy shuddered at the thought. He couldn't get caught. He would be whipped to near-death if he was.  

     "You won't," Lily stated with conviction. "We've taught you the skills of a Slytherin too well to allow you to get caught. We'll be there helping you the entire time." 

     Nodding, Harry couldn't help thinking to himself that those Slytherin skills weren't always his most helpful tool. Still, he was taught well. Hopefully, he would manage to go through with the entire plan.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     His heart was beating out of his chest. Harry was currently holding his letter, staring at it with wide-eyes and amazement. He couldn't believe it! He would be going to Hogwarts! 

     "Harry, the plan!" Lily exclaimed as she stared turn around, making sure no one came over to see Harry holding it.  

     With a quiet squeak and a jump, Harry stuffed the letter deep enough in Petunia's ugly, feces-colored vase that not even Petunia's meticulousness would notice it there. With a quickness that only came from practice and constant control, Harry schooled his emotions into the same neutral expression he wore every morning when he had to grab the mail. He headed back to the kitchen and gave it all to Vernon. At Vernon's command, he headed back to his cupboard.  

     "I actually got it!" Harry whispered at his parents.  

     "I told you it would be alright," Lily said with a grin on her face. Besting Petunia was becoming one of her favorite past times. The moment Petunia entered the spirit world, Lily was going to hang her on a tree and make her admit to all her dirty crimes.  

     Harry gave a wide grin. "Yeah," he said, "you did."  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Several hours later, Harry opened the back door of the house. He listened inside to make sure Petunia had _actually_  gone to the store and wasn't just pretending so she could get him in trouble. 

     "Is it all clear?" Harry asked his dad when he walked back in his direction. 

     "Yep! The bitch thought you wouldn't notice," James grinned with happiness.  

     "James! You don't say cuss words around our son!" Lily admonished him. 

     "Not like I haven't heard worse at school," Harry muttered under his breath.  

     Lily was about to reply, but Harry was already strolling through the house. He went over to the vase and grabbed the letter. After reading it through, he headed to his cupboard, where there was a thin, wide-ruled notebook that he used for school, and an envelope with a stamp that he had taken in secret from a teacher's supplies.  

     After writing his letter to Minerva McGonagall with the help of his parents, Harry looked it over.  

_Professor McGonagall_ ,  

      _My name is Harry Potter. I have received your acceptance letter, but my current family situation restricts me from going to Diagon Alley to_ _retrieve my school supplies. My relatives do not know I have received my letter, as they would most likely burn it before I could retrieve it again. They do not allow me much freedom. They despise magic_ _and would not allow me to attend Hogwarts if it were their choice. They despise_ me _and would prefer me gone. They take too much pleasure in inflicting suffering upon those who are strange or abnormal in their eyes_ _. I ask that you_ _p_ _lease send someone to retrieve me from the Dursley_ _residence._  

_Sincerely,_  

_Harry Potter_  

     Harry couldn't understand much of the letter, but his parents gave a nod of approval. He inserted the letter inside of the envelope, which only said "Minerva McGonagall," "Hogwarts School," and "Scotland." After taking a moment to listen to what's going on outside, Harry put his letter in Mrs. Figg's mailbox, raised the flag, and headed back to the garden just in time. He hoped that Mrs. Figg wouldn't notice the change, and that she would leave it if it did. Petunia's car drove into the driveway only a few seconds later.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Minerva McGonagall was _furious_ , to say the least. When Arabella had arrived with an anonymous letter earlier that afternoon, Minerva had been confused. Apparently, Arabella had found it inside of her mailbox and assumed that it was from Harry Potter. She had opened the letter, and had only managed to restrain herself enough to send Arabella home and not go storming into Albus's office. She _knew_ that the Dursleys were going to be a bad option for Harry's upbringing, but Albus had _insisted_. It seems as if Albus hadn't taken the boy's mental and emotional health into account.  

     Minerva respected Albus, but he didn't realize what his neglect did. Minerva had seen one two many students, both among her own, and when she herself was a student, tainted by the darkness of abuse. She wouldn't allow another to do so. She couldn't go to Albus with this. His actions showed that he couldn't be trusted with the boy's emotional health. She had to go to one of those students who had seen Harry's type of abuse from all sides.  

     Still, she didn’t know how well that course of action would go. For one, Harry Potter was too young for the type of vocabulary that he used in his letter. He could've received help, but that would automatically make Severus Snape, who oh-so despised Potter males with a passion, suspicious. Also, the boy's accusations against his relatives could be extreme or severely unfounded.  

     Minerva, at a road block, considered all sides. If she didn't ask Severus to check on the boy, she would not only be neglecting her duties as a professor and as Deputy Headmistress, but she would be risking another young man to the taint of abuse. If she did ask Severus to check on the boy, he might go complain to Albus, will most likely accuse the boy of lying, and will _definitely_  fight Minerva. Minerva couldn't go herself, and she didn't trust any of the other staff with something this closely related to the Order.  

     Minerva sighed in preparation for the fight ahead of her, then made a floo call.  

     "Minerva, what do you need?" Severus asked in his rich drawl as soon as he answered. Minerva gave a small half-smile. It was always reassuring to know that she was dealing with a straightforward person. Albus's mystifying way of speaking to others often gave her tremendous headaches. Severus's straightforward approach was much less distracting and confounding. Then again, his lanky black hair and dark, imposing robes clearly yelled "I don't have time for your shit."  

     "Can you floo into my office for a few minutes, Severus? I need to speak to you about an important manner concerning this year's first years," Minerva stated.  

     Severus narrowed his dark eyes but nodded nonetheless. Minerva knew that he already had suspicions concerning their discussion topic, but she also knew that he always waited for every detail until making his judgment. At least, that was the case with anything not concerning the Potter males.  

     Instead of speaking, Minerva handed Severus the letter. The moment he read the greeting, his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned into a tight line. Once he was finished, he asked Minerva, "Please tell me that you're not planning on sending me to that woman's vile home."  

     Minerva smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Severus, but I need to be discrete with this. If what he says is true, Albus has been neglecting his emotional and mental health for nearly a decade now. Anyone else I send will report back to Albus. You're the only one I trust with this." 

     Minerva's words obviously had an effect on Severus, whose lips loosened a bit and whose body straightened with withheld pride. Still, Minerva could tell she wasn't going to win this argument _that_  easily.  

     "And how do you know that the boy is not lying?" Severus asked with an upraised brow. "After all," he added in a bitter tone and with a sneer on his face, "he _is_ a Potter." 

     Minerva sighed. She would make no comment on the second statement. It would only raise up an entire argument between them that they had decided to leave behind a long time ago. Instead, she decided to tackle his question. "Severus, if I _don't_  investigate this, I'll be neglecting my job's duties. I've seen far too many students succumb to the horrors of abuse. I will not have another student falling. If he is lying, then at least we _know_  that he is alright. But if I do not investigate, I will not know whether or not his relatives are actually abusing him." 

     "Then why not go yourself?" Severus asked in what Minerva could tell was a desperate attempt to get out of this favor.  

     She merely glared at him until he gave a sigh. "Alright, Minerva. I'll go do this for your stupidly Gryffindor sense of justice. But if this becomes a waste of my time, _you'll_  be in charge of brewing half of the remaining stock for the infirmary." 

     Minerva nodded with a smile. She knew Severus was completely serious about the threat, but she also had a feeling that this was definitely not about lies and deception. Something was happening in the Dursley residence, and she would make sure to stop it. 


	5. Severus Versus Petunia Equals Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to all of those who have probably been cringing at the location of Mrs. Figg's house. I didn't realize I was using fanon until I looked up Mrs. Figg's residence and realized that she lived on Wisteria Walk. Even so, I'm not going to change it, not when it's been that way since chapter one. Sorry!
> 
> On another note, THANK YOU for all of your amazing kudos! I think I updated last week, and I wanted to update this week again. I decided to split the chapter in two (again) because of how long it it. I hope you guys like it! And thank you for your support. I'll try to update the rest of what belongs to this section sometime in the upcoming week.

     It was ten in the morning, and Severus was dreading the upcoming meeting. Severus just _knew_ that the Potter boy was lying and extremizing the abuse that he was suffering. He didn't want to stroll into the Dursley residence just to see another spoilt Potter, but it seemed as if he had no choice. Minerva _really_ owed him.  

     After donning muggle clothing and sheathing his wand inside of his jacket sleeve, one annoyed Severus Snape headed out of his staff quarters at Hogwarts. He walked through the large grounds, his boots making the only sound clicking off of the stone floors this time of the year. After closing the school gates, Severus apparated on the spot to the nearest apparition point on Privet Drive.  

     _Which address did Minerva say was Potter's?_ Severus thought to himself as he strolled through Privet Drive. After a moment, he came up with Number Four. Looking around, he noticed Arabella Figg's house. He walked until he reached it, then looked across the street towards Number Four, Privet Drive. _Well, here goes nothing_ , Severus thought bitterly as he neared the house. 

     As he neared the house, he saw a small figure hunched over the garden. The figure appeared to be pulling weeds, and Severus couldn't help but think that that was probably the boy's cousin. So when the figure raised it's dark head and looked at Severus with familiar green eyes, he felt a fire light at the pit of his stomach.  

     A knot built in Severus's throat as he received this first glimpse of the boy. Severus didn't want to believe it, though, so he pushed down the knot and went up to the boy.  

     The boy narrowed his eyes, and said, "Who are you?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     "Who are you?" Harry asked the man in front of him with suspicion. Oh, he knew who the man was. If his father's ranting and his mother's staring was any indication, this would happen to be the infamous Severus Snape. Still, Harry didn't trust adults and he had heard enough of his dad's exploits with Polyjuice Potion to know better than assume a person's identity.  

     "Severus Snape. Professor at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall received your letter and has sent me to check on you, Mr. Potter," the man said.  

     Harry narrowed his eyes. He gave the man a good once over. He was dressed in black clothing: trousers, button-up shirt, and tie. His shoes were a sleek black and his dark eyes were intense. Lanky black hair framed the man's face, a hooked roman nose decorating it. A quick look at his hands showed stains that Harry couldn't identify.  

     Behind him, he could hear his dad muttering and his mum trying to reassure her husband.  

     "Professor! The man was a _Death Eater_!" James exclaimed as Harry tried not to react to his dad's words. 

     "James, he probably has his reasons," Lily said reassuringly, finally out of her shock after receiving an explanation.  

     Harry ignored them and went back to his own conversation. "Check up on...sir?"  

     "Minerva is under the belief that you are in danger in this household. She has sent me to check," the man stated. Harry only shrugged. 

     "You mean, you think I lied? Go ahead and check inside if you don't believe me," Harry stated. It took all of his willpower to hold back his other comment. _You probably won’t believe me anyways. It's not like adults ever do_.  

     The man gave a nod and headed inside the gate. Harry went back to his gardening, but he couldn't help and listen to the conversation at the door, especially when Harry turned around and saw Petunia sneering at the man. If Petunia hated him, that was already a plus in Harry's book. 

     " _Snape_. What are _you_ doing here?" Petunia sneered in the man's direction.  

     "Petunia. I can't say it's a pleasure to see you again," the man--Snape--stated. Although his back was turned around, Harry was willing to bet the ten dollars in his cupboard that he was also sneering. The tone in his voice definitely indicated distaste.  

     "Then go away," the woman retorted.  

     "Unfortunately, I cannot. I'm here on a _job_ from one of my colleagues." Although Harry knew what he was here for, Snape didn't sound remotely happy to have been forced to come. 

     Apparently, his parents agreed. "Why did Minerva send the greasy git? She could've sent _anyone_ else."  

     "Like I said, James, there are probably reasons for this," Lily replied. Harry smiled. While his mother had her bouts of temper, she always knew how to control James's rambunctious nature.  

     Harry went back to the conversation, but had already missed a small snippet. "--nothing wrong here, so if you would just _go away_ , that would be absolutely _lovely_." 

     "If there truly is nothing wrong here, than you won't mind if I take a look around, _Tuney_ ," Snape emphasized. Petunia looked uncomfortable as she shifted on her feet.  

     "Why should I let _you_ in here? Lily certainly didn't trust you after _you_ pushed her away. I don't think I should either. How do I even know you're actually working under Dumbledore?" Petunia challenged with a constant sneer. Her finger was pushing on Snape's chest as if challenging him to do anything about it.  

     "Why!? Cause at least he isn't abusing my son and even bothered coming here!" Lily yelled from behind Harry. Harry struggled to hold back the half-snort, half-giggle that he wanted to release. 

     " _Apparently_ , Petunia, _I_ didn't spend the past ten years resenting Lily and her family," Snape said as he pushed Petunia's hand back.  

     Harry was shocked when Petunia snorted. Behind him, he heard James snorting as well. "Didn't resent? Lily _told_ me how much you resented Potter, Snape. How can you not resent _that_ ," Petunia pointed in Harry's direction, "over there when he looks so much like your bitter enemy?"  

     Harry shifted uncomfortably on the spot as Snape turned to stare at him. He blanked his face, not wanting the knot in his throat to express itself through his face. Snape looked at Harry for a second longer before turning back around.  

     "Ah, but Tuney, the boy has his mother's eyes, and an all-together different disposition. I wouldn't be surprised if _that_ were your fault. Now, _let me inside_ ," Snape said lowly as he pulled out a thin black rod that Harry assumed is his wand.  

     Lily behind him groaned. "I hope the hex Severus uses on Petunia isn't too bad. There's not much _I_ can do to rescue him from the hands of the Ministry if he does," she stated as she stood beside Harry, looking at the scene.  

     "No," Petunia declared. Harry couldn't help but think that denying this wizard in particular when he was already annoyed was _probably_ a bad idea.  

     He found out that he was completely correct when Snape raised his wand. " _Incarcerous_ ," he recited. Ropes shot out of his wand and twisted themselves around Petunia.  

     Harry waited for a few seconds. He kept his mask blank in case Snape turned around at any second to look at him. Instead, Snape barked out, "Mr. Potter!" 

     Harry stood up by instinct, straightened his back, and said, "Yes sir?" Behind him, James growled and Lily...snickered? Harry stopped the confusion from showing on his face.  

     Snape gave a sigh and neared him. "Mr. Potter," he started more gently. "I would like to use legilimency on you. Are you alright with that?" 

     "No!" James yelled from behind him. Harry turned to stare at his dad, but Lily stared at Harry. 

     Lily gave Harry her answer. "Harry, you don't have to do this if you would be uncomfortable." 

     Harry already knew about legilimency. For the past year, he had been taught how to clear his mind around a wizard, especially because he was about to reach the age where he would start going to Hogwarts. According to both of his parents, it was safer if Harry knew how to keep his mind from easy accessibility. It had taken surprisingly little effort. Harry especially liked to clear his mind on those days when the pain on his back was almost unbearable. Harry also knew the difference between casual and direct legilimency. His eyes opened up his thoughts. The spell opened up his mind.  

     Harry thought about it for a moment. If he used legilimency, Snape could take advantage of the access to his mind and would find out about his mother and father, but he might not believe Harry otherwise. Harry shifted uncomfortably.  

     "You didn't like my dad, did you?" Harry asked. 

     Snape stared at Harry with confusion at the non-sequitur. He slowly nodded. "I...did not appreciate James's treatment of me." 

     Harry had more confidence asking the next question. "You don't trust me that much as well, right?" 

     Snape shifted uncomfortably himself. "I have to admit that I did not trust your arguments until I spoke to Petunia." Harry noticed that he looked away from Harry's eyes. It probably took a lot to admit that, Harry thought to himself.  

     "Why don't you use legilimency on Petunia, then? As a muggle, she doesn't know how to control her memories that well," Harry stated. 

      It seemed that Snape understood Harry implied statement. _I do not want my mind invaded._ Snape gave a nod, then a smirk. He walked up to Petunia and pointed his wand in her direction again. "Petunia, you should know that humiliating you was my favorite summer past time," the wizard stated as he raised his wand. "I'm glad I now have a good excuse to do so." Petunia's eyes widened, but it seemed as if she had given herself up to her fate.  

     " _Legilimens!_ " exclaimed Snape. Behind Harry, Lily gave a laugh.  

     Harry turned to stare at his mother with an incredulous expression on his face. "What?" Lily asked. " _That_ person stopped being my sister when you became her family's favorite play toy." Harry gave a tentative grin and turned back around.  

     Harry couldn't tell what was going, but the wizard's face slowly went from a sneer to a gaping mouth and wide eyes that Harry was pretty sure the dour man would never allow himself to wear had he been completely conscious of his surroundings. Then, Snape dropped his arm to his side. He stared at Harry for a few moments before nodding to what seemed to be himself.  

     "Mr. Potter, would you mind showing me...your... _room_?" the wizard asked Harry. It was Harry's turn to stare in shock. Someone actually believed him! 

     James gave an irritated growl and Harry didn't even have to look to see Lily's satisfied smirk. Harry nodded. He stood up, dusted off his baggy jeans, and walked past a shocked Petunia into the living area. When he reached the cupboard, he was hesitent to open the door. The cupboard was his own personal humiliation. He didn't like when other people saw it. He would prefer to not have to show it to the dour man behind him, but he knew it would completely turn Snape to his side.  

     Fortunately, Harry didn't have to choose. The man reached around him and unlocked to cupboard. He stared inside, and Harry only saw his face tighten even more. "Mr. Potter," the man started in a dark, ominous tone, "I saw your aunt's memories. I assume, since you received your letter and were able to respond to it, you had already known of your magic." 

     It wasn't a question, but Harry treated it as one nonetheless. He hesitated to answer, but that was apparently all the man needed.  

     Snape gave a sigh and turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, I will escort you to Diagon Alley today. Then, I will take you to Hogwarts," Snape said curtly as he stood up and shut the cupboard door. "Come along."  

     Snape didn't wait for Harry as he started back towards the doorway. Harry, hesitating for a second looked at his parents. James looked like he wanted to shake his head, but Lily was holding it as she nodded with a reassuring smile.  

     Harry nodded and turned towards the doorway, before remembering his book list. He gave a sheepish smile to his current chaperone and headed back inside. Digging underneath his cot, he found his Hogwarts letter, which still had all of its materials inside. He shut the cupboard again and headed back outside. 

     Harry walked alongside Snape for several minutes before they finally started talking. "Mr. Potter, how far back can you remember this abuse happening?"  

     "As far back as I can remember," Harry stated as he looked ahead. He could think of a thousand more sarcastic responses, but Harry didn't know Snape. Plus, it was always to his advantage to play the innocent one.  

     "From what I saw, the Dursleys always assumed you believed them. How did you find out about your actual heritage?" 

     "Petunia forgot that she has a box full of mum's things in the attic. I found it when she made me clean out the attic about three years ago," Harry lied easily.  

     "What exactly gave it away?" Snape asked him. Harry noticed his tone changed slightly and wondered whether or not it was curiosity.  

     "A diary and mum's letter to Petunia a few months before their deaths," Harry explained easily as they continued walking.  

     Snape nodded, then held out his arm. "We're going to be apparating to Diagon Alley. Do not let go no matter what," Snape explained sternly. Harry nodded. 

     He grabbed Snape's arm and held on tightly. Snape grabbed his other arm and Harry just barely saw his parents disappear before the sickening feeling of apparition hit him.


	6. Dealing with Money Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayoo!! Look at that! I updated a day later. To be fair, I did already have about two-thirds of this chapter done beforehand, but I'm glad I got the rest of this done. This chapter is kinda boring because it's more technical than anything else. To be completely honest, I didn't even plan things to go this way, or to make Dumbledore such an asshole, but that's how it came out so that's how I'm gonna roll with it. Trust me, he will NOT be a villain, but his machinations are going to come out into the light a lot more than normal. Don't be too harsh *hides behind screen*.   
> On another note, thank you once again for all of your lovely kudos! I love how much support you guys are giving this. And thank you to the people that commented.   
> Oh, and don't expect updates this often. I'm telling you now that I am usually not this productive in my writing. I'll try to update as soon as possible, though.

     Harry didn't like apparition, he decided as soon as they landed in Diagon Alley. It felt like his entire body was being compressed and spun through a thin funnel before it was expanded again. He couldn't breathe for a split second and he couldn't feel Snape's hand on his arm or vice versa. The compressing feeling messed with his senses too much.  

     Then, Harry suddenly felt like vomiting. Immediately, a hand shot out and handed him a vial. Holding his hand to his mouth, Harry looked up at the owner of the hand.  

     "It's an anti-nausea potion. It'll make your stomach feel better," Snape said. Harry nodded and grabbed the vial from him. He drank it down, grimacing at the disgusting flavor, before giving back the vial. Almost immediately, his stomach felt immensely better.  

      Harry took a chance to look for his parents and gave a slight smile when be saw them beside him to his left. "Why did apparition feel so...bad?" Harry asked curiously.  

     "It's the sensation. Every witch and wizard has that feeling their first time apparating, and a few times afterwards. You'll get used to it eventually," Snape replied. "We'll be going to get money and your clothing first, after which we'll head to the bookstore. From there, we'll get your supplies wherever we may need them. Is that alright?" Snape looked down at Harry for confirmation. Harry nodded eagerly, not caring at the moment. He was to overwhelmed by the bright and cheery atmosphere around him. 

     Harry stared around with wide eyes. The sky above the open alleyway was bright blue, only a few lazy strokes of white staining it. The alley itself was very wide, making it seem bigger than it actually was. The shops on both sides of the alley were surrounded by a cheery atmosphere, and the buildings in which they resided were built in proportions and instances only plausible through magic. Harry smiled as parents used magic to control their children or float purchases behind them. The children and teens around him went to the shops with excitement on their faces. Harry gave his own grin.  

     When he looked back to his escort, Harry noticed that Snape wore a partway bemused and partway beffudled expression that Harry once again thought he wouldn't have before been able to imagine on the dour man. Harry decided to ignore the look and said, "Where am I going to get money to buy my supplies?" 

     Snape hesitated for a moment. "We'll go to Gringotts and see if you have access to the Potter vaults," he told Harry.  

     Harry felt the chill air surrounding spirits, and his father's voice told him, "I don't think they'll have the key, Harry. Chances are that Albus has it right now." 

     Harry nodded both to Snape and in understanding to his father's statement. Snape gave his own nod and led Harry to Gringotts. As they walked down the alleyway towards the bank, Harry stared around. He saw an ice cream shop full of kids in one area, a broom shop in another, and several pubs and resturaunts. As they came upon Gringotts bank, Harry was astonished at the architecture. He noticed the warning at the top of the doorway that was just ominous enough to discourage customers to avoid testing that theory.  

     When they entered the bank, there were several windows open. Harry looked at the goblins behind the windows, and shuddered when one looked at him with a glower. He had been warned about the goblins, but that didn't mean that he wasn't astonished at their appearance.  

     Harry followed Shape up to one of the counters. The goblin at the window took a glance at him, then smiled a predatory smile. 

     "Ah," started the goblin. "Mr. Potter, we've been awaiting your arrival back to the wizarding world." 

     Harry blinked, wide-eyed. "You...you have?" 

     "Mr. Snape, would you please escort Mr. Potter to private office B?" the goblin asked, ignoring Harry's question.  

     "Might I ask why?" Snape asked calmly, although Harry could tell he was confused.  

     Harry looked around at his parents, who also shook their heads in clear confusion. Harry turned back to the counter, waiting for the goblin's answer. "There are family financial matters that need to be arranged between the Potter family financial manager and Mr. Potter," the goblin stated. 

     Snape nodded and attempted to push Harry's shoulder in the direction of the Gringotts offices. Harry avoided the touch, a wound there still fairly tender. He headed in the direction of the officer alongside Snape, failing to notice the older wizard's expression. 

     For several minutes, Snape and Harry waited in the Gringotts office. Harry listened to the quick explanation from his parents. 

     "I forgot that my parents--your grandmother and grandfather--had set up an account manager for the vaults after my grandfather retired. I only talked to him a few times as the Potter heir. His name is Ookgahp, and he's currently the only one other than Albus Dumbledore himself that should have access to the Potter accounts," James explained to Harry. 

      Harry gave a discrete nod to indicate both that he understood and for James to move on with his explanation. "I don't know what Ookgahp is going to ask you about, but look at us if you don't understand something. If you don't know what decision to make, we'll tell you," James finished. Harry sighed in relief and nodded again.  

     Another goblin that Harry assumed to be Ookgahp entered the room. Harry went to shake his hand and the goblin did so. 

     "Mr. Potter, it's nice to meet you. My name is Ookgahp, and I'm your family's financial manager," the goblin explained. 

     Harry nodded. "It's nice to meet you too," he said quietly. The shy persona definitely couldn't kill him here.  

     The goblin nodded, then took a seat on the other side of the desk. Harry took a seat next to Snape and waited for the goblin to start explaining. 

     "I imagine you're quite confused as to why you're here, am I correct?" 

     Harry nodded. "Sir, I didn't even know I had an inheritance," Harry lied as he looked down at his feet.  

     "Ah, yes. It is to my understanding that you have spent nearly ten years under the care of your relatives Mr. Vernon Dursley and Mrs. Petunia Dursley," Ookgahp declared and Harry nodded once again. Ookgahp looked at Harry in the eye and said, "Did you know, Mr. Potter, that the Dursleys have been receiving a monthly stipend for the past several years from your family's vault?" 

     Harry stared wide-eyed. He hadn't known that, and neither had his parents, apparently. Beside him, James was shouting every curse word he could imagine and Lily was looking desolate as she thought about the past several years in which her son had been abused, beaten, and neglected. Harry shook his head in shock.  

     Ookgahp stared at Harry with an intense expression. "Mr. Potter, do you know who is in charge of your vaults?" 

     Harry could take a good guess, but that would require some explanations, so he shook his head instead. Ookgahp gave what seemed to be a frustrated sigh. "Mr. Snape, would you be so kind as to inform Mr. Potter of his magical guardian?" 

     Snape paled. "So it has been Albus all along?" he asked in a hoarse whisper. 

     Ookgahp nodded his head disappointedly. "I'm going to assume by your individual reactions that Albus Dumbledore's actions have been misinformed, if not highly damaging and illegal," Ookgahp stated. "That was why we called Mr. Potter into our offices today. We were actually quite lucky it was you, Mr. Snape, that had escorted Mr. Potter. Had it been anyone other than Professor McGonagall or yourself, we would not have taken this opportunity. We have suspected for a while that Headmaster Dumbledore has been misusing his power and neglecting the duties of guardian, especially after we sent several letters these past few years requesting to meet with Mr. Potter himself." 

     Snape hesitated for a moment. "If I may ask, why doubt in the first place? Are magical guardians not, in fact, in charge of all of their charges' financial matters until their charges are of age?" 

     "There are two reasons why that statement is not completely correct," Ookgahp started. "First of all, we always require guardians to bring in their charges once they reach the age of eight, merely as a precaution to make sure that the guardians are not abusing their monetary power or mistreating their charges. Second of all, split guardianships are always given the benefit of the doubt because they are few and far between, and they oftentimes end up going badly, as what I can assumed happened to the dual guardianship between Petunia Dursley and Albus Dumbledore." 

     Harry nodded. "But how did Dumbledore gain access to my money? Don't I have any family that's alive?"  

     Ookgahp shook his head. "Your last living relative is currently imprisoned, and his financial management has been claimed by Albus Dumbledore through his approval. By proxy, he gains magical guardianship of yourself as well."  

     Lily and James both frowned beside Ookgahp's desk, but said nothing. Instead, Harry asked, "Okay. Then what can I do? I have no power until I'm seventeen."  

     Harry was surprised when Snape spoke up. "Not exactly, Mr. Potter. You could choose to emancipate yourself financially. As you are still fairly young, you would need a co-signer to approve of any large spending fees, but you would have complete access to all of your family's vaults. At the age of fifteen, you would also be able to remove the co-signer."  

     Harry looked at Lily and James at that statement, and was not surprised when they were both speaking eagerly.  

     "Harry, this is the perfect way--" 

     "--said Minerva sent him, right?"  

     "--no more access to your vaults--" 

     Harry looked away in indication that they were overwhelming him. Almost immediately, they looked at him sheepishly and together said, "Sorry."  

     "Emancipate, as in become independent?" Harry asked, more to receive information than an actual definition. 

     Ookgahp looked at Harry and said, "Well, not completely. As Mr. Snape said, you would need a co-signer, but they would only limit your spending. They cannot withdraw money or items from the vaults, and it would only be financially. Albus Dumbledore would remain your guardian for all other matters." 

     Harry nodded, then looked at Snape. "If I did this, would you tell Dumbledore about it?" 

     Snape regarded Harry for a moment. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would eventually find out whether or not I actually said anything, but I will refrain from saying anything. Albus has obvious deemed himself...less than sensible when it concerns his students."  

     Giving another nod, Harry turned towards his parents for his opinion. They stared at each other awkwardly before James spoke up. 

     "This is definitely a good idea, but who would the co-signer be?" James glanced quickly at Snape with distaste, but almost immediately turned back to Lily. 

     "Well...Severus _did_  say that Minerva sent him. Perhaps Minerva would be willing?" Lily suggested, and Harry held back a smirk. He knew that part of her wanted to trust Severus with this responsibility, but the other part hadn't _yet_  truly forgiven him for becoming a Death Eater. 

     Harry knew that he had been quiet too long. He turned towards Snape again and said, "Who would be willing to co-sign? I don't know anyone, but I don't want Dumbledore to have anymore power over me than he has to." 

     Snape fidgeted uncomfortably and said, "There are two people."  

     When the professor failed to expand on his statement, Harry asked, "Who?" 

     "Myself," Snape started, and Harry had to resist the urge to wince at James's protest, "or Minerva."  

     "The professor that sent you?" Harry asked to make himself seem more ignorant. After all, he couldn't know too much. He didn't want anyone to find out about his particular gift.  

     "Yes. Her actions to your letter should be more than enough to give her your confidence. When she read it, she wouldn't let anyone but me see it. She..." Snape fidgeted again. "She doesn't trust Albus to deal with his abused students in the correct manner," Snape said.  

     From his peripheral vision, Harry could see both Lily and James nodding at this. He nodded as well and said to Ookgahp, "Could I get Minerva McGonagall to be my co-signer?"  

     Ookgahp nodded eagerly. "Yes, Mr. Potter, but I would need her signature of consent along with yours to complete an emancipation. Until then, I cannot release your vault keys without the consent of Albus Dumbledore himself."  

     "If I could use your Floo, I would be able to call Minerva into the office," Snape said calmly as he was once more ignored.  

     Ookgahp nodded. Snape stood up and went over to the fireplace in the office, where he used the Floo powder. Harry couldn't see what was going on, but he relaxed as things started to fall in place. While Snape conversed with the professor, Harry turned to his parents.  

     Lily and James looked at him and Harry tilted his head as if to say, "What do you think of this?" 

     "Harry, we're alright with this," James said. "We trust Minerva. She wouldn't ever intentionally harm a soul. We won't know unless she comes through, but we're sure that she took the knowledge of your abuse with...difficulty." 

     Harry nodded. He looked back to Ookgahp, who appeared to be looking through a stack of papers for the necessary document. While he was confused as to the leniency of emancipation, Harry couldn't argue. It would allow him to at least stop the monthly stipend that was going to his relatives as they mistreated him. He wondered for a moment the exact amount of the monthly stipend that was going to them. He would have to find out. The more he would be taking away, the better.  

     "Mr. Potter, meet your future Transfigurations professor, Minerva McGonagall," Snape said as he pointed to an older woman with graying hair in a tight bun. Her robes were completely black, and a classic witch's hat laid on her head. While the frown lines on her face indicated a strict demeanor, McGonagall wore a small smile on her face.  

     Harry shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," he said quietly as he looked at her. 

     "Harry, it's nice to meet you, too. Let's sit down so that we can get everything solved," the witch said before heading over to the chair that Snape was previously occupying.  

     "Mrs. McGonagall. It's a pleasure to meet you," Ookgahp said, shaking the woman's hand. "I am Ookgahp, the Potter family's financial manager. Has Mr. Snape explained the circumstances to you?" 

     McGonagall's face darkened almost immediately. "Some," she said curtly as her lips thinned. "Why was I chosen, when Severus could've just as easily been the co-signer?" 

     "Mr. Potter insisted," Snape stated from behind McGonagall. He stood with his arms crossed, but one could tell that he was more than willing to let his colleague take over this matter.  

     McGonagall turned to stare at Harry. "Why?" She asked him in confusion. 

     "My parents would've wanted you more," Harry replied. He turned in Snape's direction, whose face was blank, "I'm sorry, sir. But mum's diary was a lot more trusting of you, especially during the war. I don't mind, but I want to respect what I feel would've been their opinions."  

     Snape's face showed a flash of disappointment for a split second, but was almost immediately replaced by the same blank expression. "Understood, Mr. Potter." The man moved back near the door almost immediately.  

     Harry couldn't help but think that he shouldn't have said that. Even so, it was too late. Perhaps he could say something later to regain the man's kindness. 

     After a quick discussion about the responsibilities of a financially emancipated child and their co-signer, Harry and McGonagall signed the necessary documents. Using Harry's blood, another key was created for him and the self-destruction curse on any previous keys was activated. Harry removed Dumbledore from those able to withdraw from his vaults and stopped the Dursleys' monthly stipend. That was when Harry finally bothered to check the amount in his vaults and the amount withdrawn in the past ten years.  

     "Fifteen _thousand_  galleons in my _trust_  vault!?" Harry exclaimed as he looked at the first file. He continued looking through. The Potter main vault carried a grand total of fifteen million, three hundred and eighty two thousand, five hundred and six galleons in money alone. The artifacts had a collectible value of another five hundred and thirty-two thousand galleons. Another smaller vault from his mother's parents had two thousand and thirty-five galleons, and the vault of a few distant cousins whose line had died out contributed eight hundred and fifty galleons. "How?" Harry asked hoarsely as he looked at all of the money that he would never bother to spend.  

     "The Potters are a rich family, and from old blood as well. Your family line goes as far back as the Peverell family. Also, several generations of Potters have invested in both wizarding and muggle stocks that are doing well. Those are continually adding every year to your vault, and quite luckily. The war depleted the Potter main family vault by several millions of galleons. While that is still quite a fortune for most, it was significantly less than what was in there before the war, and what is in there now. That fortune comes with several responsibilities as your family's heir, but that's a discussion we can have once you're of age," Ookgahp stated.  

     Harry could only stare wide-eyed at all of the figures on the papers in his hands. Then, he came upon the papers involving the Dursleys' stipend, and scowled. "How much does the galleon exchange for the pound?" 

     "Almost five pounds." 

      Harry did the math quickly in his head. "They took over one-hundred and ten _thousand_  pounds? That's more than Vernon makes in a year!"  

      While Harry did not manage to see it, the two adults looked at him in sympathy. Even so, Lily and James managed to catch a glimpse of the professors' emotions, Lily with understanding and James with shock. Harry, meanwhile, finished the final arrangements. After finalizing the emancipation documents, he went to retrieve money from his vaults. It had only been forty-five minutes, but Harry already felt freer than he had his entire life. He exited Gringotts with an equally smug and delighted smile on his face. 


	7. The Durselys Get Their Comeuppance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to all of you for your support and especially to any new readers. I appreciate the comments I've received so far and all of your support makes me excited to continue this. Thank you once again.  
> So, time for Severus's and Minerva's revenge (mwahaha). Okay, so not really because I need the Dursleys in this story. But I hope that the restrictions I have placed on them make you happy enough, and sorry to those that were hoping for a different result =/ Enjoy!

     As Harry and Snape gathered up his needed materials, Harry couldn't help but notice that the wizard seemed more distant than before. They had already gone to retrieve Harry's robes, books, and quills and parchment. Making their way to the apothecary, Harry decided to speak up. 

     "You know, mum's diary," mum herself, thought Harry, "spoke a lot about you, especially when you were younger." Mostly to spite dad and throw dad's behavior in his face, Harry thought with an internal smirk.  

     Snape stayed quiet for a few moments, and Harry's breathing stopped. He was afraid he had broached a subject Snape didn't want to talk about. Then, as if to stop the subject altogether, the dour man asked, "How do you know that she doesn't speak of someone else?"  

     Harry countered his argument with calculations he had made in his own head dozens of times. "Mum had me when she was twenty. She would be about thirty-one right now. Even if wizards do age more slowly than muggles, you look like you're in your thirties. I bet that you even like potions, right?" 

     Snape stared at Harry with a strange mixture of apprehension, awe, and even....pride? No. He must be imagining that last one. "You're quite right. I actually teach potions at Hogwarts." The air was silent for a moment before Snape continued. "Your mother and I...we were friends in our childhood, but I made some mistakes, went down a dark path, and ruined my friendship with her a few years before graduation."  

     Lily snorted in front of Harry and said, "Made some mistakes? Please. He made _many_ mistakes. But hell, at least he acknowledges them now." Her face softened and she added, "I wish I could speak to this Severus. This Severus is so much more like my old friend."  

     James looked at Lily with a glower on his face. Lily only stuck out her tongue. "What? I'm not allowed to have friends?"  

     "He hurt you! Several times over! What do you even want with him!?" James said in frustration. 

     Lily stared at James for several minutes before giving him a wide grin. "Someone's _jealous_. Of a _living_ man." She started laughing, and Harry turned away. Even so, there was a grin plastered on his face that Snape stared at with more confusion.  

     "Is there something you find amusing, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked harshly, a scowl decorating his face. 

     Harry blushed and shook his head. "I was thinking back to one of the stories in mum's diary where she helped you prank dad and Sirius."  

     Snape smirked at the comment, much to a dead James's displeasure, but then his breath hitched. "You know about Black?" He whispered.  

     Harry was confused for a moment before he realized exactly what might have caused this reaction. "Sirius? I know he was my godfather, and that mum explained in her last letter to Petunia that they had almost chosen him as Secret Keeper, whatever that means, but they chose Peter Pettigrew in the end."  

     Snape's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"  

     Harry nodded. "Why? I don't understand what's so important about that," he lied. He knew exactly what had happened, but that was information from after his parents' deaths. His mother couldn't have possibly known that Pettigrew was going to be a traitor. 

     Snape shook his head. "Nothing, at least not for now." 

     The conversation ended as Harry, with the help of Snape, grabbed his potions supplies. While James looked at all of the assorted bug parts in disgust, Harry couldn't help but be interested as Snape explained to him how to choose out the best parts. Harry was more than used to dealing with the creepy-crawly, especially after all those years of gardening.   

      From the apothecary, Harry was taken to grab the rest of his supplies. After getting an ice cream from Fortescue's, Harry prepared to head to Hogwarts with his shrunken supplies inside of a brand new trunk. He fidgeted as he grabbed Snape's arm. 

      Harry was suctioned into the tube-like feeling of apparition and for several moments felt disorientated. Almost immediately after touching down at Hogsmeade, Harry swallowed back bile. Snape didn't offer Harry another potion, so he had to fight for control of his own stomach.  

     Once Harry felt confident that he was _not_ going to end up puking in the middle of this street, he looked around. Apparently, they had landed right outside of the gates of Hogwarts, and Harry was mystified. The gates in front of him had the Hogwarts logo in the middle. Past the gates, Harry could see the large stone structure that was Hogwarts, as well as the empty grounds and what Harry assumed was the Forbidden Forest. They were on a road lined with pine trees and, in the distance, Harry could see small cabins and several shops similar to those in Diagon Alley. In another direction, there was a tall, deteriorated building that, even from their distance, had an ominous feeling to it.  

     Harry looked back at the gate just as the steel bars opened to let them in. Once inside, the gates closed again and Harry followed Snape to the castle. The fields here were grassy, with diverting pathways here and there. He saw a small hut with smoke coming out of it and a patch of what seemed to be pumpkin plants. It was a contrasting image to that of the forest whose border started right beside the hut. Once at the main doors, Snape waved his wand and the doors opened to allow them in. 

     Harry stared at his surroundings as they walked through the Entrance Hall and up several flights of stairs in the direction of a specific tower. Portraits hung on most visible spaces, all of which interacted with each other and whispered behind hidden hands as Harry and Snape walked through the halls. Snape warned Harry that the stairs moved and to be careful when they did so. When the two wizards arrived at a stone gargoyle, Snape gave the password. A flight of stairs appeared when the gargoyle moved out of the way, and Harry took the flight up.  

     At the top of the stairs was another door, which Snape knocked. A kindly voice bid entrance, to which Snape opened the door roughly and stormed into what Harry assumed was the office of one Albus Dumbledore. The person behind the desk was dressed in garish purple robes, his hair and beard white and long like that of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings (Harry had only gotten to read that one by sneaking into the school library to read it). Half-moon spectacles clouded the man's cerulean eyes. When the elderly wizard's expression fell at the sight of Harry and his eyes lost their twinkle momentarily, Harry assumed he was right.  

     "Severus, what happened?" The wizard asked Snape with a tight tone to his words. He glanced at Harry, then back at the older wizard. 

     Snape neglected to answer the elder man and instead raised his wand to the stairs behind him.  

     "To Minerva: Come to the Headmaster's office," he said as a silvery doe shot out of his wand and pranced in his direction. He dropped his wand, then told Harry to sit down. Deciding that the expression of Snape's face was too dangerous to mess with, Harry took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk.  

     "Severus..." Dumbledore said ominously as his patience appeared to grow thin.  

     "Albus, you've been neglecting the safety and health of yet another abused student!" Snape said as he turned towards Dumbledore. "I thought you weren't going to do this anymore!!"  

     Harry stared calmly at the scene ahead of him, and noticed that Dumbledore's expression went completely placid as the man thought about his reponse. "Severus, I need you to explain what I have neglected to do for me to understand. Mr. Potter, here, has been under several wards that warn me if he is ever fatally injured or his home is ever invaded." 

     "Albus, you know _exactly_ what I mean. Those wards may have warned you if Potter was ever in danger of losing his life, but you never checked up on those vile muggles to see if he was being treated correctly. When I went to check that household, there were signs of physical, mental, and emotional abuse. Petunia absolutely _loathes_ her nephew. Several times throughout his childhood, Potter has been attacked by both her husband and her son. He was treated like a house elf, kept in a cupboard, and fed infrequently. I haven't had anyone do a diagnosis charm on him yet, but I don't think I want to know what illnesses and injuries have healed incorrectly or been mistreated. Albus, I found him _gardening_ at ten in the morning. He hadn't even had breakfast when we left the Dursleys!" Snape said, defending Harry more than he thought was possible. He hadn't expected such an impassioned defense of himself from someone that had hated his dad.  

     Dumbledore's face paled with each new comment, and all three Potters relaxed a bit. So the man _hadn't_ known about his abuse. At least that was reassuring, if nothing else.  

     Harry thought Snape was angry, but McGonagall slammed open the door and immediately declared, "I _told_ you not to send Harry to those muggles, Albus. I _told_ you, but you refused to listen. The boy sent me a _letter_ describing his abuse. You didn't even pay attention to James's and Lily's will!"  

     Dumbledore seemed to attempt to calm down. He said, "You know why I sent him there, Minerva." 

     "Yeah, yeah. You told me. The blood wards, his mother's protection, growing up outside of fame, etcetera, etcetera. That doesn't change the fact that those muggles neglected and abused the boy. He needs to be moved elsewhere," the woman stated, and Harry's eyes widened. He never expected that. He honestly hadn't even expected this discussion to even take place.  

     Dumbledore, apparently, seemed to disagree with McGonagall's statement. "We cannot move him, Minerva. The blood wards are too vital to Mr. Potter's safety." 

     Harry glowered as those words came out of the Headmaster's mouth. He wasn't the only one, as Snape immediately snapped, "Albus, I don't care what scheme you have running through your head this time. I want that boy out of that household." 

     Dumbledore shook his head again. "Severus, we _can't_. For one, the moment Mr. Potter returns to the wizarding world and people start recognizing him, _everyone_  is going to flock to him. If what you say is true, going from a sheltered and even neglected lifestyle to absolute and complete recognition is overwhelming. Am I correct, Mr. Potter?" 

     Dumbledore looked at Harry, and Harry shrugged. "I've learned to ignore people, especially after mu-I read Mum's diaries and letters. But why would anyone care about me here?" That Harry also knew, but he wasn't going to reveal as much to the Headmaster.  

     "Diaries? Letters? I don't ever remember anything of the sorts being delivered to Petunia," Dumbledore said with a frown on his face.  

     "Petunia apparently retrieved them at my parents' funeral," Harry replied. This lie was slowly becoming easy. Even so, Harry kept his mind blank out of fear that the Headmaster would go digging for his secrets. If Snape and McGonagall, who had helped him, were not trustworthy enough to know, Dumbledore definitely wasn't. "Now, why would anyone care about me?" 

     Dumbledore nodded, but Harry could tell that he was still suspicious. Almost immediately, he felt an invasion in his mind, like someone breathing too close to his neck. He looked straight at the Headmaster, who frowned but backed off nonetheless.  

     "Mr. Potter, you are the only wizard in history to survive what we call the Killing Curse. That, and you are credited by all of the wizarding public for destroying the man that killed your parents," Dembledore said, and Harry nodded. He didn't need further explanation, so he waited for Dumbledore to continue. 

     "Albus, what in the world is the second absurd reason that we cannot _possibly_  send Mr. Potter somewhere else to live," Snape ground out between clenched teeth. Harry could tell that he believed the Headmaster's words about as much as he believed that Hell could freeze over.  

     "The second reasons, Severus, is that those wards will protect Mr. Potter throughout his years at Hogwarts. You know what I believe about Tom. I would much rather that those wards be in place if the prospect of such a danger ever becomes real again. Plus, you know as well as I do that there are still those hunting for traitors and war heroes. We don't need the biggest one unprotected." 

      "You say keep him safe, Albus, but have you ever even taken notice of the vile actions those insufferable bastards take towards their kin?" Minerva asked him as she leaned forward in her seat. 

     "I doubt he does," muttered Snape darkly as he continued pacing around the room.  

     Dumbledore held his hand up. "I'm not saying to return the boy completely unprotected. If you wish, go yourselves and add tracking , protection, and monitoring charms to the household. Not only would those keep Mr. Potter safe from any intruders that miraculously can make their way through the outside wards, but it would keep anyone inside the household from continuing to harm him." Dumbledore then turned to Harry. "I really am sorry, Harry, but those wards are too precious for your protection. I promise, though, that we'll keep your relatives from further harming you."  

     Harry could hear his parents behind him yelling at Dumbledore, but Harry didn't mind so much. He just wanted the Dursleys to leave him alone. He was used to people ignoring him. At least if the Dursleys couldn't hit him, he would be alright. Harry gave a silent nod in understanding, and Snape and Minerva both looked at Harry in astonishment. 

     Harry looked at them, and, once again, shrugged. "I don't care where I am. I'm used to being by myself. As long as the Dursleys leave me alone, I'll be okay." 

     That seemed to earn Harry looks of sympathy from both professors, but at least they said no more on the topic. From what Harry could hear, apparently his parents had taken his response as final as well. He heard a sigh and a groan behind him. Harry once again held in the urge to give a smirk. 

     Dumbledore, though, seemed to be happier with Harry's response than Harry liked to think. He fidgeted a little as the twinkle entered Dumbledore's eye and he said, "Now, if there is nothing more to discuss, you should take Mr. Potter here back to his home."  

     Snape and McGonagall both nodded, but Harry could see neither was happy with the final verdict. Really, he wasn't much happier either, but he didn't particularly care. He was content if he had something to eat everyday and he wasn't being harshly punished for the slightest mistake. He looked at the Floo, where his parents were standing, and saw them frowning. Harry shrugged to let them know that he didn't care. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     As nausea hit him, Harry started to have his doubts about whether going back to the Dursleys was the correct thing to do. He looked upon the pristine house, the perfectly organized garden he had been in charge of for over half a decade now, and the two giant boys his age sitting in the garden poking something, and he almost immediately felt the nausea from a second ago coming back to him. Then, he realized that Dudley and Piers Polkiss were messing around with a grass snake, _his_  grass snake, and he ran in their direction.  

     "Hey, stop it! Leave it alone," Harry yelled as he dove to pick up the snake, which looked like it was fine, if not a little annoyed.  

     "Hey, Duds, look who's back," Piers said as he poked Harry in the side with his stick. Harry jumped away. 

     "What are _you_  doing back here, freak? Mum and dad will have your hide when they find out you're back," Dudley said with a cruel smirk on his face.  

     Harry's breath hitched as Dudley said those words. He knew it was irrational to fear Dudley when there were two grown adults just outside of the garden, but too many years of Dudley's threats ran through his mind.  

     "Hey, look at that. The freak's scared out of his mind," Piers said as he poked Harry in the side again. Harry moved back as both of them neared, muttering to the grass snake to escape. It did exactly that as Dudley was about to kick Harry in the shin. Fortunately, the blow never connected and Dudley being held back by one angry Severus Snape. 

     Piers looked up at Snape and McGonagall and said, "Who are you?" 

     McGonagall said, "Friends of Mr. Potter's parents. Now, Mr..."  

     "Polkiss. Piers Polkiss," the boy said with a smug grin on his face.  

     McGonagall looked at him with a stern look on her face and said, "Mr. Polkiss, we have some business to discuss with Mr. And Mrs. Dursley. Would you please go home?" 

     Piers looked offended and said, "Why do you think I should do what you tell me? My parents are in the PTA. They wouldn't be too happy about the way you're treating Dudley and me." 

     McGonagall's lips thinned. Apparently, Snape wasn't too happy with Piers's rudeness and said, "Mr. Polkiss, we are both professors at a highly prestigious college. We have friends in the government who would be more than happy to deal with your parents and the Dursleys for condoning this type of rude and reckless behavior from their children."  

     Piers's eyes widened. He turned tail and ran without saying another word. Harry looked at the two professors and asked, "How truthful were you being?" 

     McGonagall smirked. "We do have friends in the Ministry of Magic that would be more than happy to imprison the Dursleys life-long, especially since we're heads of our respective houses. Unfortunately, it would mean that you would be the center of a custody war between more than twenty old families, so we won't actually dare do anything about it."  

     Harry nodded, and waited for the two adults to climb up the steps before heading towards the bushes and quickly telling the snake he'd be back later. The snake hissed an affirmative and Harry went back to McGonagall and Snape, who both looked at him strangely, but once again said nothing. When the door opened, Harry had to back away as a very purple Vernone seethed in anger. 

     " _You_. You run away and leave my precious Pet tied up, then _dare_  to step back into this house? We'll see what you think when I'm done with you," Vernon said as he neared Harry, ready to grab him by the collar and drag him inside. Harry backed away just as McGonagall and Snape both pointed their wands in the direction of Vernon's neck.  

     Vernon backed away as the two seething adults neared him. Snape said, "So _you_ _'re_ the physical abuser of this family, are you?" He didn't sound very pleased to be talking to the walrus-like man. Vernon's nose twitched, his mustache moving in an irritating sort of way, and he tried to stand his ground. 

     "What do you freaks want?"  

     Harry almost giggled as McGonagall and Snape looked at each other, then sent Vernon flying backwards into the couch. They tied him up and closed the door behing them. Harry could hear sounds coming from the kitchen, but he assumed that Petunia didn't want to deal with more angry wizards. It didn't sound like she was planning on entering to the defense of her husband anytime soon, at least.  

     "Mr. Dursley, we _want_  Harry to be safe, protected, and healthy. We _want_  him to feel loved and cherished by his family. We _want_  Harry to feel as if this is actually his home, and not the place that he has to come back to every summer for another two months of torture. Unfortunately, what we _want_  is not reality, so we're hear to set some ground rules for the next six summers of Harry's life," McGonagall said curtly as she sat down on the couch opposite of Vernon. 

     The man sputtered. "You listen to me here-" 

     Snape interrupted him and said, "No, you listen to _us_. Unless you would like the Ministry of Magic to come investigating this place for abuse and neglect, you will stay seated, quiet, and _obedient_."  

     Vernon, in a last-ditch attempt to get his side, said, "You have no evidence." 

     A cruel smirk appeared on Snape's face. "Mr. Dursley, I have _more_ than sufficient evidence. Not only does Mr. Potter here have multiple scars that will automatically make you suspect to the charges, we have hundreds of well-educated and completely competent Healers who would happily do a full lifetime scan of the boy. Every injury, illness, and physical and mental problem the boy has had in the past eleven years would show up on that scan. Not only that, but, as your wife found out, I am a more than competent Legilimens. I could search your mind for every memory you have, even those you no longer remember, and use that as evidence. Along with a dose of veritaserum, you would be _screwed_  under the scrutiny of the Ministry."  

     Vernon sputtered, but gave in reluctantly. " _Fine._ What do you freaks want?"  

     McGonagall and Snape smirked at each other. "Mr. Dursley, Severus and I ask that you keep Harry for the next several summers until Harry has come of age. You understand the importance of the blood wards, do you not?"  

     Vernon muttered, "Those bloody wards."  

     Snape continued. "Minerva and I will be setting several monitoring charms on this household, and on Mr. Potter himself. You _will_  give Mr. Potter a proper room, as we _will_  be permanently locking and warding that cupboard so that only Mr. Potter himself will have access to it. You will be completely unable to touch Mr. Potter without his consent, all of you, and if the wards catch any sign that you are giving Mr. Potter less than sufficient amounts of nutrition, we will come back to investigate. Once Mr. Potter chooses his room, the room will also be completely warded so that only he can enter and leave the room unless someone else enters with his consent. I warn you now: do not attempt to harm him again. It will only be a very shocking and painful experience to you."  

     Vernon huffed angrily but said nothing. Harry smiled as he realized that things were going his way for once. He leaned back and watched as his parents stared in marvel at both of the professors. As soon as Vernon huffed, Snape and McGonagall had started chanting. Harry watched as magic infused itself in the house and was absorbed by magic that was already there. The sight of colors mixing together, forming a marble pattern, delighted Harry. He watched in awe as all of the wards connected with the magic already there and infused themselves into the general magic surrounding the house.  

     Once they were finished, Snape chanted a more ominous-sounding spell and pointed his wand towards Vernon. Strings of dark grey exited Snape's wand as the magic inflused itself over Vernon's entire body. From Vernon's body, lighter silvery strands covered Harry and infused themselves in his own body. The strands felt cold, but not the type of cold after spending hours in the rain and being forced into his cupboard without changing. This type of cold was more comforting, like being outside with heavy clothing on a winter day and watching the snow in marvel. Harry could tell the spell was darker than most of the other magic he had seen, but he could also tell that the spell was protective. He wasn't going to complain.  

     Several of the dark grey strands bounced themselves off of Vernon's body, and Lily explained that those were going to cover Petunia and Dudley. Harry smiled as the spell finally locked in place. He sat still for a few minutes until Snape called him.  

     Harry was directed upstairs, where he chose Dudley's second room. The room wasn’t much, but it was better than the cupboard. It's not like he had much to move anyway.  

     Snape made the old toys in the room disappear and tidied up the messy room. Then, he and Harry stood outside of the door. Snape cast several spells on the door, some obviously dark while others were much lighter. One specific spell keyed Harry's magic to the door and would only open with a password and when Harry touched it. Whispering to the door, Harry said a Parseltongue password when directed. The spell finalized and Harry tested it out. Just to make sure, he had Snape also test it out, who could not open the door, even with several destructive hexes. Harry nodded happily. 

      Downstairs, the same thing was done to Harry's cupboard after he removed some of his clothing. When the spells were finalized, he breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't known he was holding in. Now that he really was protected, he felt a lot lighter and happier. He smiled at both of his teachers.  

      "Thank you," he said quietly. They nodded in satisfaction and, with a final warning to the Dursleys, took their leave. 


	8. Not Our Expectations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first, THANK YOU to all of my lovely readers. I finished this chapter again. This is more of the Potter family bonding. This chapter is softer and kinder than the last one, at least towards the end. I hope you enjoy it. And thank you to everyone that gave kudos, bookmarked this work, and commented.

     Harry should've known that escaping Vernon's anger was not going to be as easy as it seemed when Vernon stood up in anger. 

     "You freak! You planned this all out, didn't you!?" Vernon's purple face was uncomfortably close to Harry's face, and Harry instinctively backed up from Vernon. 

     Harry would not talk, more out of a survival instinct that had been whipped into him than actual submissiveness. On the inside, Harry actually knew that all he had wanted was to receive his Hogwarts letter and go to Hogwarts like any other eleven-year-old witch or wizard. He would not express that, though.  

     Vernon got closer to Harry and said, "I bet this is all threats, isn't it? You brought those freaks like you to threaten us so that we would stoop to your commands. Well, boy, that isn't going to happen, ya' hear me. I'm not scared of those freaks!" 

     Harry resisted the urge to snort, but began to doubt the spells that Snape and McGonagall had cast. What if they didn't work? What if the Dursleys would continue to hurt him? 

     Harry paled as Vernon's hand rose to slap him, and closed his eyes awaiting the hit. It never came. Instead, he heard Vernon protest in pain and opened his eyes to see the walrus man rubbing his own cheek. There was a frown on his face and Harry could see that Vernon was getting angrier, but he couldn't help but feel giddy. Harry could guess what the effects of the dark spell cast on him were, and he was excited to see Vernon fail. 

     Vernon was indeed angrier by the time he realized what was going on. He sputtered and started taking off his belt. Harry gulped as he realized what was going on. 

     "Can't touch you, can I, boy!? Well, let's see how well that works against this!" Vernon said as he raised the belt's metal end, and Harry backed himself into a corner. As the belt swung down, Harry waited for the stinging pain of a newly formed welt. Like before, it didn't come. 

     Harry opened his eyes just as a rip showed up on Vernon's trousers. 

     "What the fuck!?" the giant man shouted. He looked at his leg, at the exact location where Harry would've been hit just a moment ago, and his face paled. Harry took that opportunity to run out of the room. He opened the door to his new room and shoved himself inside before firmly shutting the door. A few seconds later, Harry heard slamming against the door, but there was no signs of the door becoming even close to unsteady.  

      Harry grinned happily, then turned towards his trunk of items that Snape had unshrunk for him before the wards had been set on the room door. He turned towards his parents, who were both giving the doorway smug smirks. It seems they were just as happy to have washed their hands of Vernon's ugly behavior as Harry was. After a few seconds, Harry could hear Vernon walking away, although he threatened Harry several times. Fortunately, Harry was pretty sure that those threats meant absolutely nothing now. 

     "This is the best birthday I've ever had," he said happily as he went over to the plain bed and plopped himself down on it. 

     "We're happy for you, Harry," Lily said.  

     "To be honest, I did not expect Snape to act the way he did," James said as he sat on the desk chair, his face looking lost.  

     Lily and Harry shared a smirk, then turned towards James. Harry said, "Don't have expectations for people, then."  

     James swung his head in Harry's direction and sarcastically replied, "Thank you, son, for turning my words against me." 

     "Just giving you the advice you gave me, Dad," Harry said with a grin on his face. "Expectations never work out. If you don't have any, a person can't hurt or shock you." 

     James rolled his eyes. "When did you become so wise, kiddo?" he asked with a laugh.  

     "When the Dursleys decided that I was stupider than an amoeba," Harry replied drily. Apparently, James didn't understand the muggle saying, because Lily had to explain it to him. 

     "An amoeba is a living thing that's microscopic and only has one cell," Lily explained exasperatedly.  

     James seemed to understand when his face lit up in understanding. He looked at the expressions on both Lily's and Harry's faces. "What? I didn't grow up a muggle," he declared defiantly. Harry and his mother laughed in mirth.  

     Harry decided to go looking through his school supplies now that he finally had the chance. He walked over to his trunk, looking brand new with it's shiny leather and clean golden clasps, and opened the lid. The first thing he saw on top was a green and silver scarf with a letter attached and another letter attached to a gold and crimson scarf. 

     Harry looked at them in confusion and looked at his parents for clarification. Lily stated, "They're probably gifts from Minerva and Severus."  

     Harry nodded, then decided to read the letter for the gold anc crimson scarf first. He picked up the letter and opened it.  

_Dear Harry,_ the letter started. 

_It has been quite a pleasure to meet you. You are_ _surprisingly_ _like neither of your parents, but I have a feeling I know why. Your parents would be proud of you. I knew James and Lily when they were students. James was an outstanding charms student, but one mighty troublemaker. I hope you aren't as bad as he is. Lily was also outstanding at charms, but she was also an incredible potions student. Severus might kill me for mentioning this, but he and your mother were even friends up until their fifth year. I loved both James and Lily, from when they were my students until their deaths ten years ago._  

_You, yourself, are an incredibly intelligent young man, and also quite brave. Anyone who can survive in the type of environment you have been in truly is fearless. Severus and I are competing. We would each like you in our house. It would be a pleasure to have you in the house of brave Gryffindor, but remember that our opinion will not change of you, no matter which house you end up in. Still, if you do end up in my house, here's your scarf. Have a lovely rest of the summer, and enjoy your relatives' punishment._  

_Professor McGonagall_  

Harry read the letter through again with a feeling of happiness. No one had ever done something like this for him, so the warmth coursing through his body was warm. Harry had to hold back tears. He picked up the Gryffindor scarf and rubbed it softly before putting it on his bed. He took out the other scarf, the one Harry can assume is probably the Slytherin one from what he knows of Severus Snape, and opened the letter.  

_Mr. Potter_ , started the letter. Harry noticed that Snape's letter was much more abrupt than McGonagall's, but shrugged it off. The man in general didn't seem like the type of person to waste time on pleasantries.  

     _I'll admit that I had my doubts about you, but you are ultimately different from both of your parents. Your behavior and attitude reflect a less-than-happy childhood, one that I can admit to knowing far too much of to feign ignorance. It has been a pleasure meeting you, and I feel you would do well in the_ _Slytherin_ _s_ _' snake pit, even if it would keep you constantly on your toes._ Hogwarts: A History _is included in your book list_. _If you need a description of the Hogwarts houses outside of your mother's diaries, the book will give you a fairly good overview, if not somewhat biased._  

_Do not_ _put too much faith in the "evil" stereotype my house tends to carry. Contrary to popular belief, it is_ _almost always_ _the sneakiest rather than the supposed "purest" that enter_ _Slytherin_ _._ _H_ _alf-blood_ _s_ _—_ _includi_ _ng mysel_ _f_ _—even as a minority are common enough among us, and there's always one or two muggleborns that manage to enter every few years_ _._ _After all, y_ _ou are not the only person who has had to use cunning and intellect to survive in their household. Perhaps you will meet someone there who understands you better than you believe. If you do end up in the snake pit, I have included the house scarf. If not, then I believe Minerva would be more than happy to be your Head of House for the next seven years, and I would not judge you for it._

_S. Snape_

Harry read through this letter a second time through as well, and he was suddenly conflicted. From what he had seen, both professors were willing to protect him. He didn't want to disappoint either. He fidgeted and decided to take out his copy of _Hogwarts: A History_.  

      After reading for several hours, completely forgetting that he probably should eat something so as not to trigger the wards, he was just as confused as ever. He had definitely decided that Hufflepuff was not his house, although he knew well enough that he definitely had a few of the house traits. Even so, he didn't feel like any of those traits truly and really define him. Therefore, he decided that the Sorting Hat would probably not consider Hufflepuff. After reading through Ravenclaw, he had come to a similar decision. He liked to believe he was intelligent enough, but he certainly wasn't super creative like a Ravenclaw might be.  

     Slytherin and Gryffindor, though, were the two houses that he was most conflicted about. Harry had to admit that being in the lion's den, where his parents had been, would be an amazing experience. He would definitely not be against it. Even so, Slytherin called out to him more. The traits just fit better. For him, self-preservation always comes before bravery, but Harry knows he can be brave in his own ways. Only he would try to protect a garden snake from Dudley Dursley and his equally obnoxious friend, after all.  

     Harry couldn't help but lay in bed as he thought it over. Would he care which house he was put in? Harry had to admit it to himself that he wouldn't care for himself, but the opinion of his parents meant a lot. Harry also had to admit that there was a pretty good chance that he would end up in Slytherin as well as in Gryffindor. Unfortunately, this realization brought to him a stream of self-doubting thoughts that he didn't want to be thinking.  

     _They would probably hate you_ , a vindictive part of Harry's mind stated. _Slytherins_ _are their enemies. Snape is just the exception to the rule. Even then, Dad doesn't like him._  

     Harry could feel the blood rushing out of his face. _You're wrong_ , he told that part of his mind. _They would love me no matter what_.  

     The vindictive part of Harry's mind laughed at him, mocking him for his naivety. Harry shuddered as he lay on the bed, the light through the window slowly fading away. _You're too naïve,_ vindictive Harry told him with what Harry could tell was a sense of superiority.  

     Harry tried to ignore the voice, but it kept mocking him. To try and clear his mind, Harry stepped out of the bedroom. He held his breath, listening for any sign that one of the multiple Dursleys in this household were about to attack him, but no sound came. Harry slowly and quietly descended the stairs. When he reached the bottom, the Dursleys all looked at him. For a moment, he thought they were going to attack. Fortunately, they simply turned away.  

     Harry went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl. He ate some cereal for dinner, hoping that his stomach didn't protest too much, then washed his bowl. Once he was finished, he walked back up the stairs, the Dursleys completely ignoring him, and entered his room again.  

      When he entered his room, both of his parents were sitting there, waiting patiently for him to come. Harry looked at them in bewilderment. 

     "What?" Harry asked defensively as he went back to his bed. "I didn't do anything," he muttered as he looked at his feet. 

     Lily's light laughter sounded through the room (but only to Harry), and Harry stared at her. She looked at her son with soft eyes, understanding and warmth crossing through their emerald depths. "We know, Harry. We also know that you're worried about something. What is it?" 

     Harry blushed and looked back at his feet. His doubts had been reassured so many times, so to be revisiting them again was ridiculous, at least to him. Still, he knew he couldn't get out of this conversation. He looked up at his parents and asked, in the softest voice possible, "What if I end up in Slytherin?"  

     Surprisingly, it was James that laughed this time. "Harry, do you still think we'll think of you any differently?" he asked Harry gently. Harry stared at his feet again and nodded in embarrassment.  

     He didn't hear anything until he felt a cool chill in the area around him. He saw James's figure sit beside him and Lily kneel before him. Still, Harry kept his eyes down.  

     "Harry, sweetie, look up." Harry kept his head down in shame. "Please? For me?" 

     Harry raised his head, and saw a bright smile light up his mother's face. "Harry, we aren't going to judge you. We don't care what house you end up in. We'll be ecstatic if you end up in Gryffindor, and we'll be as equally proud if you end up in any of the other three houses. Why are you so scared?"  

     Harry fidgeted and looked out the window as he said, "I don't know." Harry paused. "I guess, I've been thinking for the past year how you probably would like me to end up in Gryffindor like you did." 

     "Harry, we don't care what house you end up in," James said softly. "You aren't us. We have no expectations of you so petty as which _house_  you'll end up in. We expect you to be happy and to make something of yourself. We don't expect you to follow every path that we did. You are you, and that's something that we can't change. Whether the hat decides you're more brave, or more intelligent, or more ambitious doesn't matter to us." 

     Harry smiled at the warmth in his father's voice, and nodded. "I'm sorry," he stated. "It's just that sometimes I feel you'll end up hating me, and then I won't see you again." 

     "We could never hate you, Prongslet," Lily said softly. Harry smiled, and nodded once again. That night, there were no more signs of vindictive Harry running through his head.  


	9. Finally at Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! This update, if you haven't noticed, is later than usual. Unfortunately, that is because I've been busy the past couple of days. Also, I'm now trying out freelance writing to make some extra money for college. Good luck to me!  
> Thank you to all of the kudos I've received and I really appreciate the couple of comments that I've replied to. All of your support inspires me to continue writing, so thank you very much!  
> This chapter is really a transition chapter, but I hope you guys still enjoy the interactions and discussions. Next chapter, WE'RE GOING TO HOGWARTS!!

     The next morning, Harry was happy to wake up to a peaceful morning. When he woke up, he stretched, but noticed that it was still incredibly early. He shrugged it off, guessing that it was probably the several years he had spent waking up early due to Petunia's insistence that he make breakfast. Today, though, Harry could hear the sounds of breakfast coming from the kitchen and assumed that Petunia had made herself make breakfast today. He looked around, but saw no sign of his parents and assumed their spirits simply weren't there at that moment. He got off the bed, opened the door and listened outside. He looked at his door and saw that there was a note attached.  

     _Since we have no choice, you're allowed to use everything, but you're in charge of your own meals and you still need to do the gardening. Also, stay out of our way. Other than that, do whatever the hell you want. -Vernon_  

     Harry smirked. He obviously hadn't expected to get out of all his chores, but he could ignore them if he wanted to and there was nothing they could do about it. After considering it for a moment, he decided that he would rather continue doing the gardening. He had worked far too hard for that perfect garden and Petunia wasn't going to ruin it with her less-than-spectacular gardening skills.  

     After reading the note, Harry decided to head into the shower. While he had the go-ahead, he wasn't going to risk angering Vernon and only spent about ten minutes in there. Once he headed back to his room, he changed into a few of Dudley's old clothing and decided he might want to buy some new clothing later on. Out of those fifteen thousand galleons in his trust vault, Harry had only spent a bare minimum of that amount on his school supplies. He could afford a completely new wardrobe, but he had no idea where he was going to get it.  

     When he was finished dressing, everyone had cleared the kitchen and Vernon was about to head off to work. He went into the kitchen and took out some bacon from the fridge when an owl flew in through the window and all three Dursleys yelled. Surprisingly, the owl did not go to Harry, but rather to Vernon. Vernon, looking confused and annoyed, opened the envelope and read the letter. Harry vaguely saw the Gringotts seal on the back of the letter before he realized what it was and gulped. Harry tried to sneak out the back door, but it was too late.  

     " _BOY!_ What the hell is this about losing the monthly stipend!?" Vernon yelled at Harry. Harry felt the blood rushing out of his face and backed up. He said nothing. Vernon had the letter and knew what the hell was going on.  

     "Well!? Are you going to answer me!?"  

     Harry stayed silent and hoped that Vernon would be reasonable about things. The man, while not the smartest crayon in the box, knew what would happen if he tried to hurt Harry. Harry gulped and waited for several seconds, until Vernon's face paled and he remembered what happened last night. It obviously took a lot for Vernon to throw the letter in the trash and to head out of the door without saying another word, but he did. Harry sighed softly as both Petunia and Dudley turned away. They had both apparently been warned about the spell's effects and wanted nothing to do with Harry when it put them at risk.  

     _Might as well have learned my sense of self-preservation from them_ , Harry thought to himself bitterly as he continued to take out things for breakfast.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     For the rest of the month, the Dursleys left Harry alone. Harry stayed out of their way and spent most of his time gardening, in his room reading or drawing, or outside of the house talking to some of the grass snakes around town. Outside of the Dursley property, Harry made sure that he constantly had his wand with him in case he was ever attacked. Slowly, the wand became a more useful tool as Harry learned new spells from his Defense Against the Dark Arts book. While Defense Against the Dark Arts was certainly interesting, Harry made sure to read through his other books. He ended up finishing all of them, even his boring History of Magic textbook, several days before summer came to an end.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     "What am I going to do about my magic after the trace is applied?" Harry asked his parents as he finished reading about the trace in his textbook.  

     Lily looked at Harry and said, "Well, do you really need your magic? You grew up a muggle. You know how to work without magic." 

     Harry shook his head. "I know. I can survive without magic, but I've been using magic for more than half of my life. It's not really that I depend too much on it, but that I want it there just in case without the Ministry coming after me for using it."  

     James looked thoughtful. Meanwhile, Lily replied, "Well, I don't think there's much we can do about that, Harry."  

     "There actually is a way to remove the trace," James stated as he looked at his son and wife. They both gave him confused expressions and he laughed as he remembered that Lily didn't know many of the exploits the Marauders had throughout their life outside of Hogwarts. "There's a book in the Hogwarts library called _Investigating Magical Crime Scenes_ that's currently in the restricted section. Inside of the book, there's a chapter that covers magical traces and auras. Inside of that chapter, there's about a page full of descriptions about the trace, using it to track underage criminals, and, for some unfathomable reason, how to remove the trace. I believe that was put there as a way to 'understand the criminal's mind' or something like that." 

     Both Harry and Lily smiled more and more as each sentence came out of James's mouth, and were jumping with excitement when he finished. "If it's still there, I can probably remove my trace!" 

     Lily smiled fondly, then frowned. "Why would a book like that be in the Hogwarts library?"  

     "I that's one of the Auror training textbooks. It's available for students that plan on going to Auror training after Hogwarts," James said with a smug grin on his face.  

     "Does that mean that its purchase is restricted by the Ministry?" Harry asked quietly.  

     James frowned. "Probably. If you don't find a copy at Hogwarts, chances of getting your hands on that book outside of the school are relatively lower." 

     Harry nodded. "That's fine. If worse comes to worse, there's probably _some_ type of black market in Hogwarts that I can used."  

     James laughed. "There is. Don't worry. Just be careful. It's run by the Slytherins and you might have to do some negotiating to get your hands on anything."  

     Lily frowned playfully and jokingly said, "Why have I let my son become such a delinquent?" 

     Harry smiled and said, "Because you love me?"  

     Lily smiled as well. "You know I do."  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     It was a week before September first and Harry sat at the breakfast table while the Dursleys got ready to go to church. All of the sudden, he remembered that he needed a ride to London. Apparently, so did Vernon because he came up to Harry. 

     "Boy, you can hide all you want, but there's no way we're driving you to London next week," Vernon said viciously. Harry held back a smirk and nodded in understanding. He knew this was bound to happen and already had a backup plan.  

     Vernon nodded as well and said, "Just so you understand."  

     Once Vernon left, Harry spent the morning reading in his room. Once Petunia had left to her weekly meeting with some sort of moral society in the neighborhood and Dudley had left to hang out with his friends, Harry grabbed the house key and went across the street to Mrs. Figg's house. 

     Snape and McGonagall had both told him before they had left the Dursley household that Arabella Figg was a squib, a non-magical person from magic parents. He had already known that, but they didn't know that he knew. Still, what he hadn't known was that Arabella was connected to them and often relayed information back to both of them, as well as Dumbledore. They had told Harry that he could rely on her if he needed her help.  

     Now, as Harry neared the house, he hoped their information was right. He knocked on Mrs. Figg's house and the woman opened the door. A smile lit up her face as she said, "Harry! What are you doing here? Where are Vernon and Petunia?" 

     "Ignoring me," he stated drily. When she gave him a confused expression, Harry explained about Snape's and McGonagall's spells and the further threats they had given to help Harry out.  

      "Good. I never liked that Albus had left you with those vile beasts," Mrs. Figg said confidently. "Come in, come in. Would you like some tea?" 

     Harry gave a nod and entered the cat-infested house. He scrunched his nose at the smell until he finally became accustomed to it. Then, he sat on the couch.  

     "What did you come for, Harry?" Mrs. Figg asked, and Harry looked at her in feigned confusion. She raised her eyebrow and said, "Harry, I know what you think of my precious cats. You don't come here for casual visits, and the Dursleys haven't brought you here for babysitting in over a year now." 

     Harry smiled sheepishly and said, "Can you take me to London on September first?"  

     Mrs. Figg frowned. "That should be Vernon's job. Why isn't he taking you?" 

     "I think he assumes that those threats didn't include having to take me to King's Cross," he said with a scowl. Mrs. Figg also scowled, and they laughed at their expressions. 

     "I've always hated Petunia. Why that woman tries so damn hard to act normal is beyond me," Mrs. Figg stated with a scrunch of her nose.  

     "I won't disagree with you," he said with a smirk. Now that he and Mrs. Figg had something to talk about, he realized he didn't dislike being in her house nearly as much. He thought to himself about how he should visit her once more before next Sunday.  

     Mrs. Figg stared at him for a moment before she nodded her head. "I can take you. Just meet me here on Sunday morning at nine-thirty." Harry nodded and was about to begin asking about her history when she said, "I assume Minerva and Severus told you about me. Albus had me under orders to keep my identity a secret from you." 

     "Yeah, I know you do, but not from McGonagall and Snape. Mom spoke about you once or twice in her diary," Harry told her. It wasn't technically a lie cause his mom _had_ mentioned her early in Harry's childhood.  

     Mrs. Figg's eyes widened. "Really? I didn't think Albus would've allowed anything that gave away your parent's past away until you were of age." 

     Harry frowned at her statement. "Why until I was of age?" 

     Mrs. Figg's cheeks turned pink and Harry realized that she was blushing. "I believe Albus had wanted to tell you things himself, but it seems as if you found out long before anyone had any thoughts of reuniting you with the wizarding world." 

     Harry continued frowning, but said nothing else. Instead, he stayed quiet as he thought about a good conversation topic. That's when he remembered what Snape and McGonagall had told him about Mrs. Figg. "So I hear you cross-breed cats and kneazles for a living," Harry stated with a smirk on his face. Mrs. Figg gave a hearty laugh. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     On Wednesday evening, after visitng Mrs. Figg one more time before he left for Hogwarts, Harry had thought that he had everything settled. Then, he had suddenly remembered that there was a grass snake currently sitting in the garden that was in plenty of danger around the Dursleys.  

     "Should I take Basile with me?" Harry asked his parents out of curiosity as he lay back, reading. Harry had finally asked about the grass snake's name a few weeks back and had gotten "Basilius Gustav Vas Cyning" as his answer. After much insistence, the irritated grass snake had finally let him shorten the name down to Basile, and only because the nickname didn't lose the original name's meaning.   

     James and Lily fidgeted. "I don't know, Harry. Basile isn't your pet. I think you'll have to ask him if he wants to go with you," James replied quietly. "You'll also have to be careful at Hogwarts." 

     Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't want anyone thinking I'm some type of next generation Voldemort. If I'm careful, though, and if he wants, I can take him, right?"  

     Lily nodded with a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry, Harry. We just don't want you feeling like an outsider at Hogwarts. Not when it happens so often here." 

     Harry shrugged. "I'm used to it. I'll keep it a secret, but, if it comes out, I'm not going to try to take it back. If and when it _does_ come out, hopefully I'll have a few friends that will stick around despite everyone else's belief that I'm an evil psychopath or something." 

     Lily and James gave their son resigned smiles. They weren't going to change Harry's mind about this. When it came to friendships and their morality, James and Lily were sure that their son was the ultimate Hufflepuff. He had never had friends, so they knew that he cherished anything or anyone that he cared about and that cared about him. They knew that their son hated keeping secrets from the people he most cared about.  

     Once the conversation was over, Harry went back to reading, this time a book he had bought at a local thrift store. Harry, at the advice of both Snape and his parents, had taken some of his money and exhanged it for muggle cash. It had come in useful several dinners, when the Dursleys had refused to let him in the kitchen until the dinner went by successfully, as well as to buy reading materials and a Walkman with a few cassettes. While Harry might not be the most knowledgeable person ever, he had already decided on his favorite types of music by the time he turned ten: classical and anything fitting into the rock and metal categories. He knew most kids his age usually went for softer but more moving sounds, such as pop, but he wasn't most kids his age. His parents had even managed to teach him the charm that would allow him to use the Walkman through magic, rather than waiting until he was back at the Dursleys every summer to listen to music again.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Harry woke up the next morning and knew what he was going to do. It was seven in the morning, as usual, and Harry was waiting for the sounds of breakfast to die down so he could get started with his own day. An hour later, he was making himself breakfast in the kitchen, Vernon having left half an hour ago, Dudley playing video games in his room, and Petunia peaking out the window looking for any immoral actions taking place in the neighbor's yard.  

     After eating breakfast, Harry washed his dishes and went outside to the yard. Grabbing his tools from a small shed, Harry went to the bush that he knew Basile often slept under. He listened closely, but heard no one speaking. Harry assumed that the snake was still sleeping and started pulling out a few random weeds.  

     Another half-hour later, Harry heard hissing from several bushes away. He went in the direction of the bush and heard a distant " _Hello_."  

     " _Hello_ ," Harry replied with soft hissing, continuing the gardening in that specific area.  

     " _How are you today, Harry_ , " Basile asked, lifting his head off the ground and tilting it in question. 

     Harry grinned. " _Great! I love that the Dursleys aren't picking on me anymore, and that I finally get to get away from them on Sunday._ " 

     Basile's head lowered as the snake stared at the ground. " _Oh_ ," he said in a small voice. Harry frowned.  

     " _Is everything okay?_ " Harry asked casually, after a few minutes. To give the snake some space, he looked at the weeds instead of at Basile.  

     Harry peaked at Basile from his peripheral vision and saw the snake fidget. He continued with his chore, hoping the snake would speak up soon. After several minutes, he was not disappointed.  

     " _Are you really leaving?_ " Basile hissed silently. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized that tone. It was muddied by the hissing accent in the translation, but he could still detect the emotion in the snake's voice.  

     " _Yes_ ," Harry answered silently as he continued working.  

     " _You're leaving me here,_ " Basile stared softly, yet accusingly, " _to deal with your monster of a cousin_."  

     Harry grinned at those last words, and looked at Basile. " _No, I'm not,_ _Basile_ _. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to Hogwarts._ "  

     Basile's head raised almost immediately. If a snake could grin, Harry was sure that Basile would be doing so right now. " _Yes! Definitely! I want to go to that magic place with you_ ," Basile said excitedly.  

     Harry chuckled, but told Basile seriously, " _You'll have to act as my pet while I'm there, and I won't be able to talk to you unless we're alone_."  

     " _It doesn't matter! Is there a garden?_ " Basile asked Harry. Harry shrugged.  

     " _I don't know. I know there's the Forbidden Forest, and there's a lot of grass_ ," Harry told Basile honestly.  

     Basile considered it for a moment before he said, " _Even better. Forests have a lot of prey._ " 

     Harry frowned. " _Does that mean it's a yes?"_  

Basile made a small nodding motion. Harry smiled. " _Do you mind if I take you inside. I don't have a cage for you or anything, so I'm going to have to take you hidden someplace._ "  

     " _No. As long as I have food_ ," Basile replied. 

     " _Okay. I'll bring you outside during the day so you can hunt, and take you inside once you're done gardening_ ," Harry explained. When Basile gave another nodding motion, Harry added, " _At Hogwarts, you're going to have to stay hidden from everyone outside of my dorm_ _. You can escape to the ground by sneaking around while there's classes, just don't get caught_."  

     Basile nodded again. Harry finished his gardening and, making sure that Basile had indeed already eaten, took the snake inside underneath Dudley's large old trousers. They were big enough that no one would notice the snake hidden inside, although walking was clunky and uncomfortable. Harry would have to find a better way to hide his snake. Probably inside of his old book bag or something.  

     Before he went to bed, Harry casually said to Basile, " _Don't get too cocky in the forest. According to mum and dad, you're as much a prey in there as the mice you eat_." 

     Basile had only looked away and muttered about insolent brats that didn't know anything. Harry smiled triumphantly. 


	10. Trains and New Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that has commented or given this story a kudos since the last time I updated. Here is yet another chapter for everyone. It's definitely longer than my last one, but I couldn't resist expanding on the ride to Hogwarts. Enjoy!

     It was ten fifty in the morning, and Harry was standing right outside of King's Cross station. Mrs. Figg had dropped him off at the entrance after helping him remove his trunk from the back and pointing him in the direction of platform nine-and-three-quarters. Harry stared in wonder at the train station. The Dursleys had absolutely refused to take him anywhere, especially after the disaster that was Dudley's eleventh birthday, so he had never seen anything as remotely exciting as King's Cross.  

     After a minute and several shoves from people around him, Lily reminded Harry that he needed to make it to the Hogwarts platform before the train left. Harry panicked and ran inside. He looked through the platform titles until he reached the section between platform nine and platform ten. In front of the wall was a large, red-headed family. Harry stood back, but one of the several family members noticed him there.  

     "Mummy! There's another one over there!" a girl slightly younger than Harry exclaimed as she pointed at him. When the entire family stared at him, Harry sheepishly smiled and gave a slight wave.  

     "Oh!" a red-headed woman somewhere in her late-thirties said as her eyes widened. She walked up to him and Harry had to resist the urge to back up. He stood straight as a rod as the woman reached him. "Hello, sweetie. Are you looking for the Hogwarts platform?"  

     Harry nodded shyly and the woman gave him a wide smile. "Well, you can go ahead and jump in with us! Four of my own are going in as well!"  

     Harry nodded and followed her to where her family stood. He could feel Basile moving in the rucksack he had on, but didn't question it. He trusted Basile not to do something stupid in a place full on humans.  

     When he reached the family, one of the boys with a "P" pin on his clothing nodded at him silently, a pair of twins gave him mischievous grins, and the last boy, younger than the other three, gave him a shy smile. Harry smiled back.  

     "What's your name?" the red-headed woman asked.  

     "Harry," he replied cautiously. Knowing from his last visit to Hogwarts about his supposed fame, he would rather not give out his last name just yet.  

     The woman stared at him curiously, but said nothing. Instead, she said, "It's nice to meet you, Harry. My name's Molly Weasley." She pointed to the man standing behind the entire family, "This man's my husband, Arthur." Pointing to each of her children, she gave Harry a quick introduction. "My oldest Percy, my twins Fred and George-" 

     "Hey!" the twins yelled simultaneously.  

     "I'm _Fred_!" exclaimed the one that had been introduced as George. 

     "And _I'm_ George," said the other.  

     Molly said, "I'm sorry, that one's Fred and this one's George." 

     "Nah, we were just joking, mum," said one of the twins. Harry smiled at their antics as their mother gave an exasperated sigh.  

     "Either way, those are my twins. This one," she said patting the youngest boy's arm, "is Ron. He's a first year student at Hogwarts this year. And Ginny is my only daughter." 

     Ron gave Harry an exuberant wave and the young girl gave Harry a shy smile. Harry smiled at both. Then, James reminded Harry of the time and jumped. Apparently, Arthur had reminded his own wife of the time, as her eyes widened and she rushed the oldest boys in through the wall that apparently led to the platform. Harry was pushed in before Ron.  

     Harry would've waited up for the boy, but he needed to make it to the train in the next five minutes. He rushed towards one of the compartments of the old-fashioned scarlet train, and almost made it to the door way, except his incredibly horrid luck seemed to kick in at the worst of times. His trolley knocked into something and Harry gasped, running to the front of it almost immediately.  

     Luckily, it wasn't a person he hit, but another trolley. He looked at the owner of the trolley, a thin boy his height with brown hair and eyes. The boy looked at him and said, "I'm sorry! I didn’t-" 

     Harry shook his head. "It's okay! It was kind of my fault." He held out his hand, "My name's Harry. What's yours?" 

     "Theo," the boy said with a shy grin on his face. Harry smiled.  

     "Are you also a first year?" Harry asked the boy. 

     The boy nodded. "I'm guessing you're one as well?" 

     Harry nodded with a grin on his face. "Want to grab a compartment together?" he asked Theo, and was delighted when the boy nodded his head eagerly.  

     Together, the two boys headed towards an empty compartment. Theo and Harry talked quietly about their excitement when they came upon another boy. He was taller than both Harry and Theo, and had dark skin and hair. He was quiet until Theo tapped him on the arm.  

     "Are you looking for a compartment?" Theo asked quietly as the boy looked at them. 

     "Theo!" the boy said with a carefree smile on his face. He looked at Harry with a confused expression on his face. "Who's he?" the boy asked rudely as he nodded his head towards Harry.  

     "Blaise, this is Harry," Theo said quietly. "Harry, this is Blaise. Ignore the attitude and you should be just fine." Harry received a pleased smirk at the expression. Blaise scowled playfully, but gave Harry a smirk.  

     "Nice to meet you, Harry," Blaise said as he held out his hand.  

     Harry shook the hand cautiously and said, "Nice to meet you as well." He narrowed his eyes, but Theo seemed to notice the tension and shoved both boys in the direction of the empty compartment.  

     As they walked, Theo leaned into Harry and stated, "Blaise can be prat, but he's not a bad person. You just have to get used to his superiority complex. It's not even his fault. His mom's a super-rich gold-digger and social climber. He gets it from her." 

     Harry stared at Theo with a raised brow on his face, but nodded none the less. "So I basically ignore anything that hurts my feelings?" 

     "Basically," Theo said with a grin on his face. Harry grinned back. He knew how to deal with prats. He could deal with a friendly prat.  

     The three boys reached an empty compartment and went inside. Just as they were pushing their trunks onto the shelves, another voice asked, "Can I join you?" 

     All three boys turned around, and Harry grinned when he saw the face of Ron Weasley. "Ron!" Harry exclaimed. He turned towards his compartment mates and asked them for their opinion. Blaise looked fairly neutral as he shrugged his shoulders, but Theo didn't look all to happy. He consented nonetheless. 

     Harry turned back around and nodded at the boy. The red head gave Harry a wide grin and entered, putting his trunk on the shelves on top of Harry's own. The four of them finally sat down, Theo beside Blaise and Ron beside Harry. For several minutes, they sat in awkward silence, until Ron asked Harry, "Where are you from?" 

     Harry tilted his head and said, "Little Whinging. About thirty minutes from London." 

     Blaise frowned and asked, "Isn't that a muggle town?" 

     Harry nodded. "I'm an orphan. I grew up with my muggle aunt." Harry tried his hardest to keep the resentment out of his voice, but he didn't succeed. While Blaise and Ron looked at Harry in sympathy, Theo had an expression of curiosity in his face.  

     "Were your aunt and uncle ab—mean?" Theo asked Harry, but he had changed the word too late. Harry knew his true question: _W_ _ere your aunt and uncle_ _abus_ _ive_ _?_  

Harry scrutinized the boy in front of him for a moment. He was short, as short as Harry. Basically, unnaturally short. As he took in the boy's bony arms and shy comportment, he knew that he was dealing with another one. With another abused kid. Harry gave a small nod. "The worst," he replied, giving Theo his hint. 

     The other boy's eyes widened. He must have read the unanswered question in Harry's eyes, because he gave his own nod. They looked at each other for another second before giving each other wide, understanding smiles.  

     When they turned towards Ron and Blaise, the two boys were staring at them in confusion.  

     "Do you know what's going on?" Ron asked Blaise.  

     The other boy shook his head and turned back towards Theo. "Would you mind telling us what's going on?" he asked in annoyance.  

     Theo gave a small grin and said, "Maybe some other time."  

     Ron looked towards Harry, and Harry said, "Agreed." 

     As Theo and Harry shared smiles again, the other two boys shook their heads.  

     "So does that mean you don't know anything about quidditch?" asked Ron curiously.  

     Harry shook his head. "I'm muggle-raised, not ignorant. My mum's diary left me a lot of information. My aunt and uncle would've sewed their own lips shut before they would've told _me_ anything about the wizarding world."  

     Blaise looked affronted and asked, "Are _all_ muggles like that?"  

     Harry stared at them in confusion. "Like how?" 

     "You know...all...cruel!" Blaise exclaimed.  

     Harry shook his head. "No. Just my aunt and uncle. They _really_ hate magic. My mum was a muggleborn. Her parents loved her. Actually, I think that's why my aunt hated me so much. She was jealous of my mum's magic and the attention my grandparents gave her. I think, with her imagination, she was also afraid of my magic."  

     "Well, that's stupid," Blaise said indignantly.  

     Harry nodded in agreement. Then, he switched the topic back to Ron's original question. "I have heard of quidditch, but I couldn't tell you any of the teams." 

     Ron's face lightened at the thought. "You should support the Chudley Cannons!" 

     Before Harry could say anything, Theo gave a snort. "The _Cannons_? The Cannons haven't won a league championship in _forever_."  

     Ron looked annoyed. "Well, who do _you_ support then?" 

     "The Falcons," Theo said with a smug smirk on his face. 

     Harry could see Ron struggling to argue. Then, he lit up. "The Falcons don't boast their own heavy record. At least the Cannons' seeker can actually _see_ the snitch." 

     "But the Falcons' chasers could hit a quaffle through the Cannons' keeper any day," Theo argued back.  

     "The Cannons' beaters would hit them with a bludger before they could even reach the goal,"   
Ron said.  

     Harry stared in amusement as he watched the argument progress. He took at peak at Blaise, who was also staring at the two arguing boys in amusement. They looked at each other in awkward silence, and Harry was about to turn away, but Blaise gave Harry was he could tell was an approving grin. Harry grinned back. 

     The argument continued for several minutes, transitioning from arguing about teams to arguing about quidditch strategy. When Harry stared at his dad, standing just inside the door, he saw an amused smile on the man's face. Every once in a while, he would give an approving grin or a shake of his head, but mostly he just listened as Ron and Theo argued. 

     At the end, Theo scrutinized Ron and then said, "You know what? You're not so bad, Weasley." 

     Ron looked at Theo in confusion, then frowned. "Are you one of those wizards that talks about my family like we're dirt?" 

     "My dad is," Theo replied honestly. His face darkened as he said, "I've never listened to my dad much." He gave Ron another small grin and said, "I'm glad I don't." 

     Ron's eyes narrowed before he decided that Theo was being truthful. He gave his own grin, and said, "You're not so bad...." 

     "Nott," Theo replied quietly.  

     Ron's eyes widened momentarily, and Theo immediately said, "If you expect me to treat you like your own person, do the same for me!"  

     Blaise and Harry stared at Theo in surprise, Blaise because of Theo's anger and Harry because of Theo's statement along with what Ron had said just a few seconds ago. Harry guessed that Blaise didn't understand what went on in the Nott household, and felt giddy that someone had trusted him with a secret such as this, albeit the pain and hardship Harry went through to receive it. Harry knew, but didn't understand why Ron would suddenly become prejudiced about Theo sply because of his last name. 

     "Why would you two not like each other?" Harry asked curiously. 

     "Pureblood ideology," replied Blaise before either boy could say anything. "The Weasleys, because they accept muggles and muggleborns, are considered by traditional Purebloods to be 'blood traitors,'" he stated. "Theo's dad, from what Mother has told me, is one of those. So there might be animosity there. Personally, we're kids. We shouldn't care. Mother certainly never has allied herself permanently with either side." 

     "I'm _not_ my father. I don't _care_ what he thinks. Never have. Since Mum died, he's been bloody barmy," Theo said angrily.  

     Ron interrupted and said, "Okay, okay, mate. You aren't your father. That's all the better for _us_." 

     Theo looked at Ron in irritation until he saw the joking grin on the red-head's face. Harry could tell that the brunette was trying not to smile, to no success. He grinned and they all relaxed. 

     The rest of the ride, the four of them joked around. As they continued to relax and calm down, jokes about their parents and families became common ground, but Harry constantly had to remind the three boys that their families did not reflect all people like them. Even so, after a particularly bad comment, they decided to move on to less offensive stories. Ron told stories about his twin brothers, Blaise would give them stories about adventures he had had with his several step-dads, Theo would tell stories from before his mother's death, and Harry would tell them all stories from his mother's supposed diary.  

     Harry was hoping he could avoid the topic of his specific past as long as possible, but a visit to his compartment only an hour into the ride changed that.  

     A slamming door caught all of their attentions. They looked at the newcomers, a fair-skinned boy with blond hair, and two large boys that vaguely reminded Harry of Dudley on each of his sides.  

     "I heard Harry Potter is on this train," the boy said absently in his snotty voice. He looked at each of them, gave Blaise and Theo nods--the boys didn't look particularly happy to see him--and gave Ron a sneer.  

     "Zabini, Nott, what are you doing in the same compartment as a _Weasley_?" he asked the two boys in annoyance.  

     Blaise shrugged his shoulders and said, "He's okay, Malfoy." The boy, Malfoy, didn't look one bit happy to hear those words. 

     Malfoy sneered at Harry's new friend and said, "So you're a blood traitor, now?"  

     Blaise's face darkened. "Malfoy, you know how my family and I work. We don't take sides." 

     "If you're talking to a Weasley, then you're choosing sides, Zabini," Malfoy said. Harry gritted his teeth as he was reminded of his cousin.  

     Blaise didn't look very happy either. "Fine, then I guess I _am_ choosing sides, you arrogant prat." 

     Malfoy looked offended and sneered before he turned away. "Nott, join Crabbe, Goyle, and I. We're _safer_ ," he said with a smirk on his face.  

     Harry saw as Theo's face whitened, then stood up and blocked Malfoy's path. "You know, you remind me of my cousin Dudley," Harry said viciously as he stood his full height.  

     Malfoy didn't seem very intimidated and laughed. "Who do you think you are? Do you know who you're _talking_ to?" 

     "No, I don't know anything about you and your stupid family. And nice to meet you, Malfoy. My name's Harry Potter," Harry replied with a smug smirk on his face.  

     Harry saw as Malfoy's face whitened considerably and he moved back. "No! You-you can't-" 

     Harry lifted his fringe and said, " _But I am_." As Malfoy's grey eyes widened and he graped, Harry gave a smirk as vicious as the tone of the words that came out of his mouth. "Now listen to me, Malfoy. You leave my friends alone. I don't kmow what you wanted from me, but I don't care. You've proven that I have no reason to trust you. If you threaten my frienda again, you won't know what hit you. Now bugger off."  

     Malfoy's face flushed bright red, athen he turned around. As he walked out of the compartment, he yelled, "You won't get away with this!" 

     Once he and his cronies were gone, Harry shut the door and sat back down. He heard Blaise snort, and, after receiving several confused expressions, Blaise said, "I'm surprised the prat didn't threaten to tell his dad, although he probably will. It's his absolute favorite line at the Ministry functions our parents drag us to." 

     When Harry continued to give a confused expression, Theo said quietly, "His dad is a school governor and has a lot of leverage in the Ministry." 

     When Harry looked at Theo, he was still pale. Harry nodded at the statment, then said, "I'm going to the bathroom. Want to go with me, Theo?" Harry gave the boy an intense look. Much to his relief, the boy nodded and they headed out of the compartment. 

     Once in the bathroom, Harry locked the door, using both the actual lock and a few locking spells that he had been taught. Once he was satisfied, he put his wand down and asked Theo, "Your dad is abusive. I'm guessing that, if what happened today got back to him, you'd be...punished?" 

     Theo went red in the face, and nodded shamefully. To ease the boy's pain, Harry said, "I know how that feels. Any action that angers him is only worse on you. You have to hide parts of yourself, erase others. It hurts, but there isn't much you can do." 

     Theo looked at Harry in relief. "I hate it," he said quietly. "I hate hiding who I am and my curiosity because he doesn't like what I'm curious about. I hate that the smallest thing will set him off. I hate that he ignores me and pits me onto the house-elves because he can't be bothered to be a parent." 

     Harry looked at him in understanding. "I'm sorry," Harry said. "I was so angry that Malfoy was threatening you, that I made a decision for you. I chose for you, and _you_ might have to suffer the consequences." 

     Theo shook his head, surprising Harry. "You made the decision I was about to make anyway. Malfoy's a part, and it's not like my father doesn't already resent me," Theo said bitterly. He then added, "I could always beg Malfoy for forgiveness, but there's no way I'm doing _that_." 

     Harry nodded. "You know," Harry started, "the Slytherin and Gryffindor Heads both helped me. You know...with my relatives. If it ever gets to be too much, tell them." 

     "But..." Theo said, trailing off. 

     "But they're adults?" Harry guessed. Theo nodded, not even surprised that Harry knew what he was thinking. "I thought the same thing when Snape came to my house. I didn't trust adults. I still don't. But those two were different. They tried. Even when the Headmaster apparently hadn't bothered trying, they did." 

     Theo rolled the idea through his mind, then said, "I'll think about it." 

     Harry nodded, and they headed back to their compartment. When they reached it, they realized there was noise coming from inside of it. As Harry reached the glass door, he saw Blaise and Ron standing on the compartment seats, and Basile on the ground. Harry groaned and opened the door, picking up Basile from the ground much to the displeasure of the two students in the compartment.  

     "Quiet!" Harry yelled as he cradled Basile. 

     "Potter, what was a snake doing in your rucksack?" Blaise asked as he looked at Harry with narrowed eyes. 

     "He's my _pet_ , for your information," Harry replies. "Now calm down and sit. You're scaring Basile." 

     " _Bloody humans with their irrational fears_ ," Basile hissed, and Harry had to stop himself from smirking.  

     "That _thing_ is your pet?" Ron asked as he glared at Basile.  

     Harry glared at Ron and said, "Yes, he is. And he's harmless. If you leave him alone, he won't bite. It's like dealing with a bee." Harry paused, then added, "He's not even venemous! He's a grass snake!" 

     Blaise started laughing and said, "Okay. Calm down. Your pet is safe from us." 

     Harry glared once more before he grabbed his rucksack and put Basile back inside. Basile hissed in annoyance, but went in nonetheless.  

     That was the last incident the entire ride, but they did meet a few other students before they made it to Hogwarts. Later in the ride, a bushy-haired girl with buck teeth and a shy, chubby boy came into their compartment.  

     All four boys stared at the two newcomers. "Hi!" she said abruptly. "My name's Hermione and that's Neville. Neville lost his toad--again--and we wanted to know if you have seen anything." 

.    All four boys blinked, then shook their heads. Hermione scrutinized all four of them when she saw Harry. Her eyes narrowed on his scar, and her face lit up when she realized who he was.  

     "You're Ha-" 

     Harry was grateful when Blaise put his hand around her mouth. He shushed her and shoved both Hermione and Neville inside the compartment. 

     "We just had a talk about this earlier," Blaise started. Harry had told all three of them that he didn't want any fame he had in the wizarding world. That he just wanted people to be his friends because they liked him. None of the three boys had said anything about his identity since. At least, until these two came along.  

     Harry decided to explain to an annoyed Hermione and nervous Neville why they had been kidnapped for nearly saying a name. "I don't want fame or attention. I want people to like me for who I am. I've had enough attention, bad or otherwise, in the muggle world. Attention isn't a generally a good thing. I didn't want anyone finding out until the sorting hat, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Not with Malfoy around." 

     Neville looked at Harry with curiosity as he asked, "Malfoy?" 

     The four boys went on to tell their new audience what had transpired earlier. With each detail revealed, and each terminology defined and expanded upon, Hermione became angrier, until she looked simply downright offended.  

     "What a ignorant brat!" she exclaimed as she her eyebrows furrowed. "He has absolutely no right to judge any of us for who we are!" 

     Blaise shrugged. "That's everyone in the rich upper class on this side of the magic river." 

     "You're in the rich upper class, Blaise," Theo said with exasperation in his voice.  

     Blaise smirked and smugly said, "Exactly my point, peasants."  

     Everyone in the compartment laughed, and then they all remembered the pair's purpose for being there. Harry asked, "Have you tried a search spell, by any chance?" 

     Hermione shook her head. "I don't know any," she said with an embarrassed blush. 

     Harry gave the girl a reassuring grin and said, "It's okay. Beginner search spells are third year and above. I only know the one I'm going to use because of Mum's diary."  

     Hermione's eyes widened, and apparently so did the eyes of every other person in the room. "That's really high!" exclaimed Neville. "How did you manage to learn it?" 

     Harry shrugged and neglected to respond. He didn't feel like telling anyone about his abnormal amounts of power. "I don't know. I just... _did_."  

     Before anyone else could ask questions, Harry such a searching spell. "It looks like Trevor is a few compartments down, Neville." 

     Neville nodded and so did Hermione, before the two of them went of to search for the boy's toad. The other four occupants continued their conversation from before. As their arrival to Hogwarts neared, all four of them became excited and curious. Each one wanted to find out exactly what was so special about a magical school in Scotland, and each one was determined to receive an answer. 


	11. Feasts and Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a shorter chapter than the previous one, but I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry for the long wait and I hope I will not take this long to write the next chapter. Thank you for all of the new support! Enjoy!

     When Harry entered the compartment again after changing into his school robes, the boys inside were all struggling to put their ties on. When they looked at him, they stared in bewilderment as his tie came out perfectly. Harry gave a sheepish smile and a shrug as he took his seat again. He couldn't really explain that it had been his parents that had helped him with his tie. 

     Once they pulled up to the castle, all of the students were rushed out of the train and onto the platform. Harry looked around at the village that stood away from the platform.  

     "Hogsmeade," he breathed out as he looked at the stores and houses with their unique structure. As it was already night, Harry could only see the houses through the lights of the windows and the lampposts, but the houses were still very visible.  

     "Harry, we have to go," Theo said as he pushed Harry in the direction of all the other first year students. Once they made it to the end of the platform, Harry could see the man calling out to them. 

     The man was a _giant_. He was at least three times bigger than any of the students. His hair and beard were wild and messy, but there was a friendly grin on his face. He was holding a giant lamp and was wearing rumpled clothing.  

     Once the man was satisfied with what he saw, he explained to the entire group how they were going to make it to Hogwarts. According to the man, they would not be taking the carriages to Hogwarts, but would instead be taking boats across the lake in groups of four. When they made it to the lake, Harry followed behind Ron and Blaise, with Theo walking beside him, to one of the several boats that were sitting on the lake.  

     When they took off, the four of them chatted as the boats moved along. As they neared Hogwarts, the group stared in wonder at the castle. Harry, who had already been here once, couldn't help but compare the marvelous sight of the castle at night to that of the day. While the castle was more visible in the day and gave Harry a sense of a fairy tale world, the castle at night was something otherworldly. Even though it was night, lights in all parts of the castle gave it a magical glow. It was really an enchanting sight.  

     The boats continued along in the lake until they made it to a crevice underneath the castle that would lead them inside. The man lead them to a small room, and Harry and the group talked with other while they waited.  

     Harry listened to other people's rumors about the Sorting ceremony and gave a smirk. There were rumors about trolls and ability exams. He couldn't help but think that they were in for quite a shocker when the only thing they saw was a hat.  

     "You know about the hat, too?" Blaise asked Harry as he too smirked at his classmates' fears.  

     Harry nodded. "Mum's diary," he gave as explanation.  

     Blaise nodded as well, and the group waited in silence for someone else to come in. Unfortunately, one certain blond prat had to go and start drama. Harry looked over at the yelling voice.  

     "--be such a clutz? You'd think a pureblood wizard like yourself has some dignity, Longbottom," Malfoy's voice rang out among the crowd. Harry groaned as he realized that this would be the bully that would make everyone's lives harder this year. Harry desperately hoped that the boy would grow up sooner, rather than later.  

     Harry went over to where Neville was sitting as Malfoy turned his back. Harry offered Neville his hand and said, "What a prat, right?" 

     Neville stared at Harry wide-eyed, then nodded with a small grin. "Grandmother tells me that the Malfoys have always had sticks up their backsides." 

     Harry grinned as well and said, "Looks like this one didn't miss the gene." He stared around and asked, "Is there anyone you're waiting with?" 

     "Yeah. Hermione," Neville said, looking at the girl standing near them with a scowl in Malfoy's direction. "I accidently stepped on Malfoy's shoes or something." 

     Harry shook his head and said, "What a ponce. You and Hermione should join us over there." He nodded his head in the direction of the other three boys he had left behind in his hurry.  

     "Hermione?" Neville asked the witch, now standing directly beside him. 

     The witch nodded her head and started talking about her excitement as they headed back to the group. Blaise looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow and said, "Don't you just love to pick up strays."  

     Harry shrugged. "I'd rather pick up strays than be the ponce that picks on them." He gave a grin and then joined Hermione's conversation about the wonders of the wizarding world. The other four joined in as well, Harry and Hermione comparing their experiences in the muggle world with the experiences of the other four growing up in the wizarding world. 

     Soon enough, the stern witch that Harry recognized as McGonagall came into the room. She described the process of the sorting ceremony, then opened the door. As everyone lined up in alphabetical order, she started pushing them out of the door.  

     When Harry, somewhere near the back of the line, looked at the assembled group in what McGonagall had called the Great Hall, he swallowed. That was one _large_ group. He could feel himself becoming jumpier as the entered the Great Hall and waited for the hat.  

     "You're alright, prongslet," he heard James say beside him.  

     "I know," Harry muttered. Luckily, no one could hear him over the singing of the hat.  

     Once the hat was finished singing its song, students were called up to the stool one by one. When they sat down, McGonagall set the hat on top of their heads. Some students were sorted in seconds, and others took a while longer. It was several minutes before Harry recognized the person that had been called.  

     "Granger, Hermione!" 

     As Hermione headed towards the stool, Harry looked at her reaction. She sat on the chair for a few minutes, making faces as she apparently argued with the talking hat. Finally, the hat yelled, "Gryffindor!" 

     A few people later, Neville was also called up to the podium. As he sat under the hat, he too seemed to be arguing with the hat. Harry hadn't bothered asking anybody about which house they wanted to end up in, but it seemed as if Neville had a specific house he wanted to be in, that the hat wasn't letting him enter. Finally, the hat seemed to give in as it yelled, "Gryffindor!" and Neville gave a small smile as he walked down to the cheering table.  

     When Malfoy went up and the hat sorted him in Slytherin, Harry almost immediately scowled. Apparently, so did James.  

     Fortunately, relief came in the form of one Theodore Nott, who also ended up in Slytherin. That made the house several times less unappealing from when Malfoy was first sorted into the house. At least he would have someone else in his dorm that he got along with.  

     Five people later, and it was Harry's turn to go up onto the podium.  

     "Potter, Harry!" McGonagall yelled as Harry heard a simultaneous gasp. He held back a groan as he headed up onto the podium and pointedly did not look at the crowd. Looking down at his feet, he sat on the stool and felt the hat touch his head. 

     "Ah, Mr. Potter," the hat started, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you." 

     _Meet me_ _?_ Harry thought incredulously to himself.  

     "Yes, you, Mr. Potter. Do you know how many years the students and teachers in this crowd have waited to watch this sorting?" 

     Harry scowled and thought, _Unfortunately_.  

     The hat chuckled. "Ah. You do not like the fame afforded to you by your reputation?" 

     _Why would I care about the opinions of these people or about their adoration? They never bothered to help me at the Dursleys. They didn't care what happened to me, only that I was safe, apparently. I don't want to go from a world that doesn't care about me to a world that pretends to care for me_ , Harry thought as he scowled. He didn't notice the apprehensive and curious looks on the faces of his entire student audience.  

     "But what about the power? You could have an influence on this world, on its people," the hat said calmly as Harry felt something at the back of his mind.  

     Harry smirk. _Oh, I had a month to think about that. I never said I wouldn't use it if I had to. I just implied that_ _I didn't want it if it comes with a heavier burden than the benefits make up for._  

The hat chuckled and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Potter. You'll make an excellent SLYTHERIN!"  

     Harry had to hold himself as shock overcame him for a moment. When the hat's final words finally registered, he removed himself from the stool. Silence permeated the room, but Harry refused to look up from his feet. He could tell that this entire crowd was staring at him in unveiled curiosity, even without Lily pointing out the fact to him. He pointedly sat next to Theo and a dark-haired girl with a pug nose named Pansy Parkinson. Theo put a hand on his arm, and Harry nodded his thanks.  

     Then, tentative applause erupted in the room from the table Harry was sitting at while whispers erupted at every other table. He looked over and saw Hermione and Neville smiling at him. He looked over at the end of the line and saw Ron and Blaise both smiling, although Ron looked a little put out. When Ron noticed his stare, he gave Harry a larger grin, and Harry waved away his put-out attitude.  

     The ceremony finished when Ron was sorted into Gryffindor and sat beside Hermione and Neville, with his brother Percy on his other side, and Blaise was sorted into Slytherin and plopped down on the other side of Theo. He could tell that everyone on the Slytherin table except his two friends were sending him curious stares. He ignored the gazing students and talked with Theo and Blaise as if he couldn't tell that the table was almost completely silent.  

     Fortunately, the silence didn't last long as the house ghosts flew through the walls. Harry listened closely to the Bloody Baron and silently promised himself to not disappoint the man. While the Bloody Baron may be more or less amicable towards the students of his house, Harry didn't feel like disappointing a man covered blood, even if his medieval robes made him less terrifying.  

     Once the Bloody Baron left, the four girls in Harry's year started asking him questions. While they seemed to be cautious, all four seemed to more or less like Harry, for which he was extremely happy. They talked about everything, from their wands, to the classes they're most excited about, to their families. Pansy Parkinson seemed to be the most traditional of the group, constantly saying something based on ignorant beliefs, but a few admonishments from Daphne Greengrass seemed to calm her down somewhat. Daphne seemed to perceive people better, as she would read Harry like a book, no matter how calm he tried to stay at one of Pansy's rude comments. Out of the entire group of girls, Tracey Davis and Millicent Bulstrode seemed to have the most progressive ideas. Tracey was also a half-blood student, and Millicent had several half-blood relatives on her father's side of the family. 

     Unfortunately, attention from all four girls also directed attention towards Harry from the remaining boys in his year: Malfoy and his cronies. About halfway through the feast, Malfoy started goading on Harry and his two friends. He mostly left the girls alone, instead attacking Blaise and Theo. Harry tried his best to ignore the boy, but he was twitchy and irritable by the time all of the first year boys were led to the Slytherin house dormitory.  

     Harry followed the house prefects, Gemma Farley and Terrence Higgs, to the common room entrance in the dungeons. Entering the room, Harry looked around the room. He wasn't sure how he felt just yet about it. While the greenish glow that came from the torches was cool, it also made the room feel colder than Harry wanted. He felt relief when he saw the fireplace that gave off a warm orange glow to counteract the green tint of the torches. Where the two colors met, there was a sort of strange mixture of color that seemed to fit perfectly with the environment.  

     When all of the first years had entered, they were led to sit wherever they could find a spot, as the older students had taken up most of the space. Harry was curious about what was going to happen, when he saw the common room entrance open again. Snape came into the common room and looked around with a passive mask on his face. His eyes stopped momentarily on Harry, then continued roaming around.  

      "Welcome to Slytherin House, first year students. I am Professor Snape, the resident Potions Master and your Head of House," Snape started calmly as he paced towards the center of the audience. "Hogwarts will be your home for the better part of the next seven years, so find it in yourself to enjoy your time here. Even so, remember that this is a school, not a social playground where you can fool around. To make it through your education, you will need to work hard, study, and give your house a good reputation." Snape looked around the room, and said, "I expect nothing less than your most excellent work throughout your school years, and you will find that many of your other teachers will not find patience for less-than-exemplary work. You will be expected to work hard and make something out of yourselves during your time here." 

      "Before I leave you be, there are certain rules you should be aware of. You are a Slytherin, not because of who you are socially, but, rather, because of a mixture of traits and ideals that you exhibit. You will find yourself attacked by other houses. You will find that they call us cheats and liars. While it unrealistic of me to expect you to do the correct thing all the time, strive to remove that reputation that taints all of us, and strive to show others that you will not tolerate their prejudices against anyone else in your house, either. In this house, you are one. I do not care for your petty arguments and rivalries. No one will stand behind us, so you will do well to heed my warning. I do not want to have to deal with an argument within my own house, and I expect you all to remember that." 

     "I also expect you to clean up after yourselves and to avoid trouble. The house-elves are too busy to be cleaning up after you, and the staff do not want to have to deal with more than they already do. Speaking of which, do not get caught out of the dorms after curfew and do not lose points or provoke me to take away points. While I loathe to do so, I will not hesitate to remove house points if you step out of line. Finally, should you need any help or support, come to me or go to any of the other Heads or teachers. All of the prefects and the Head Boy and Girl are just as willing to help. Understood?" 

     Harry nodded his head alongside the rest of the entranced first years. "Alright. Other than that, do not stay up too late. I will expect all of you at breakfast tomorrow morning to give you your schedules. Good night." The man turned around and exited the room, his black cloak trailing behind him. Harry stared in wonder, never before having seen the man in robes.  

     After a few minutes, Harry got up and went to the dorms. He must've been the first there, because all of the trunks were sitting along the walls. He chose one of the two beds closest to the window and set his trunk in front of it. He had planned on going back out to the common room, but he fell asleep quickly after laying down on his bed.


	12. Classes, Ghosts, and Deathly Hallows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the support you've shown. Here's the next chapter (in a lot shorter time span than the last one), and I hope you enjoy it. Those of you that have asked, here is your Harry, James and Lily, and ghost interaction. It's probably not as interesting as you were hoping it was going to be, but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

     Due to the schedule Vernon and Petunia had set on Harry, Harry woke up earlier than the rest of his classmates. Early enough, in fact, that there was still an hour left before breakfast started and his fellow dormmates wouldn't be awake for at least another half hour. To pass the time, Harry removed his school robes and some undergarments from his trunk, then headed into the shower after giving Basile, who had moved to his bed at some point last night, a stroke down his back.  

     After Harry had shut the door to the bathroom, he heard a familiar voice behind him. "How did you like you first night at Hogwarts, kiddo?" James voice asked as he set his clothing on the nearest counter and turned around. Harry smiled at the wide grin on James's face. 

     "It was fine. A little nerve-wracking, and I don't think many people were expecting me to end up in Slytherin," Harry said as he undressed. Out of habit, James sat on the nearest space facing the wall. Harry smiled. "Where's mum?" 

     "Visiting some old friends," James said vaguely, and with a scowl on his face. 

     Harry smirked. "You mean visiting Snape?"  

     James's scowl deepened and Harry laughed as he entered into one of the shower stalls and shut the curtain. "Don't worry, dad. One, it's not like he can see her. After all, there has to be some type of bad luck going around if there are _multiple_ necromancers in Hogwarts alone. Two, you know mum just misses him." 

     "I still don't understand why! Your mother never forgave him for what happened in fifth year, and yet she still wants to talk to him again!?" James exclaimed loudly.  

     "Dad, I think it's something to do with regrets. She's dead now and has had no interaction with the one person that was her friend for nearly a decade. It's too late to accept his apologies, and I think she regrets that the most. He doesn't seem like the slimy git you described, and I'm willing to be he's changed a lot in ten years," Harry explained as started scrubbing shampoo on his head. 

     The room went silent and Harry finished showering in that time. He took a towel and wrapped it around himself as he exited the shower stall. After changing, he headed out of the bathroom with James after him. Once he had showered, it seemed as if the rest of his dorm mates were blearily waking up. Harry pointedly avoided talking to Malfoy and instead sat near Blaise and Theo as they changed into clothes.  

     While Blaise and Theo brushed their teeth and went to the bathroom, Harry talked to Basile. " _Did you sleep last night?_ " 

     Basile gave a nodding motion. " _Mostly. I moved into your bed before you got back. When did you come back?_ " 

     " _The feast ended at nine, I think. I think I went to bed around nine-twenty,_ " Harry replied as he gathered his school things. " _Be careful today. Don't get caught, don't bite anyone, and don't get too cocky when you're in the forest_."  

     Basile nodded, then slithered underneath the bed at Harry's command. Once Harry had made the bed, Basile moved to sit on top of it. At one point, one of his dormmates had nearly discovered Harry speaking to Basile, but he had said that he was muttering to himself. He had been given _that_ look that said, "You're a lunatic," but better a lunatic than evil.  

     Once Blaise and Theo were ready to go, the three of them headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. While the options weren't as extensive as the night before, Harry still enjoyed what was available. A while into breakfast, Harry decided that treacle tart was his favorite Hogwarts desert. Lily stared at him fondly while James looked like he wanted to taste the food. Harry thought he would ask his parents about food options in the afterlife once they were alone.  

     "Mr. Potter, do show some manners and slow down," Snape said from behind Harry, which had caused Harry to jump. While Blaise and Theo tried to stifle their giggles, they had burst out laughing the moment Harry glared at them. He could hear Lily laughing behind him and decidedly ignored her, instead opting to sit up straighter.  

     "I'm sorry, sir," Harry muttered as he continued to eat at a slower pace, ignoring Blaise and Theo. A paper was shoved in front of him, which Harry immediately recognized as his class schedule. "Thank you, sir," Harry replied less sullenly after he had turned around to look at his Head of House. 

     Snape nodded in reply, then moved on. Meanwhile, Harry looked through the schedule and listened to his yearmates' comments about their schedule. 

     "We have flying lessons with Gryffindor? Someone's going to get hurt," Blaise said. 

     "Hurt? More like killed," Theo replied off-handedly before putting another forkful of hash browns in his mouth.  

     "That can't possibly be as bad as _potions_ with them," Daphne said from beside Harry. 

     "Yeah. The Gryffindors are always complaining that Snape favors us when Dumbledore is always favoring _them_ ," Pansy continued. "Mum told me it's been like that since she was at Hogwarts, and she wasn't even a Slytherin!" 

      Malfoy joined in the conversation, but added his own snide comment. "The Gryffindors are even worse than the Hufflepuffs. At least the Hufflepuffs _try_ , even if they are fairly idiotic." 

     Harry scowled at Malfoy's comment and said, "They can't be that bad, can they?" 

     Much to his dismay, every Slytherin in a ten foot radius nodded their head. "They are," Tracey said sympathetically. "I mean, they aren't all the same, but most of them jump into every situation without thinking about what they're doing."  

     "Davis, don't try to defend them. Just admit that they're all stupid," Malfoy added snidely, and Harry decided to stop the conversation before it got ugly.  

     "We have Herbology with the Ravenclaws first period. That has to count for something," Harry said before taking another bite from his second piece of treacle tart.  

     "Yeah, to cheat off of them," Pansy said with a grin on her face. Harry didn't know how he felt about her statement. Dudley had always cheated by making Harry do his homework. He knew exactly how it felt to be on the other end of _that_ deal and didn't like that someone he knew would be making someone else do it.  

     Harry decided to stay out of the conversation from that point on and instead decided to finish investigating the schedule himself. By the looks of it, he would have Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions with Ron. While his friends may not like having classes with Gryffindors, he was more than happy to go along with it. He didn't know how Blaise and Theo felt about that, though, and decided to observe their reactions.  

      Once it was nearing nine, Harry got up from the Slytherin table and, following instructions fro Gemma, he went down towards the greenhouses. Blaise and Theo went with him and they enjoyed their relaxing walk down, having left several minutes earlier than their classmates.  

     During their walk down to the greenhouses, Harry and his friends ran into the same man that had escorted them across the lake. Literally.  

     Harry was walking with his head turned towards Theo when he knocked into something sturdy and nearly fell back if it weren't for the hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up and saw the giant man in front of him. 

     "Sorry! Didn' mean ta knock inta ya'," the man said as he looked down and looked at Harry. "Oh! Harry! Didn' realize it was you," the man said after he recognized Harry. 

     Harry narrowed his eyes. After having found out about his imminent fame in the wizarding world, he wasn't too keen on friendly greetings such as this one. "Do I know you?" 

     Hagrid looked shocked for a moment before his face brightened. "Ah. 'M sorry. Didn' mean ta sound so familiar." He held out his hand. "My name's Hagrid. I knew yer mum and dad. Very kind people they were." 

     Harry instantly brightened and he shook the man's hand. "You knew them? How?" 

     "Yer mum used to come 'round ta my home. I didn' know yer dad too well 'til Lily brough' him along," Hagrid replied with a wistful smile. Harry shot a glance to both his parents, one which was nodding eagerly and the other more reluctantly.  

     Harry smiled. "I don't know a lot about my parents. I would be glad to hear more stories." 

     Hagrid seemed to brighten a little. "Why don't you come over one afternoon after classes end?"  

     Harry nodded, then reminded Hagrid that the three of them had to attend class, to which Hagrid blushed and let them go. Harry smiled. The man seemed kind of strange, but he was friendly. It didn't look like there would be any problems with him.  

     In Herbology, Blaise, Theo, and Harry sat together along with Tracey. The four of them listened intently to Professor Sprout about what they would be learning in class. Harry genuinely enjoyed the class, at least once they got past the lecture and went into the practical lesson. It was interesting to learn about the plants Professor Sprout kept in the greenhouses, especially since these plants moved and understood what they were doing. It was a fun class, to say the least.  

     In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry sat partnered with Ron while Blaise and Theo partnered together. Harry noticed that Hermione and Neville were partnered together and made a mental note to talk to them at some point. When Blaise and Theo sat in the desk immediately behind Harry and Ron, the other Slytherins had given all four of them the stink eye. When Harry mentioned that they could go sit somewhere else, Blaise and Theo had both shrugged.  

     "Why?" Harry asked them both. 

     "'I am me and I promise to not conform to the views of society as long as my actions do not completely severe my ties with high society.' Mother's favorite lesson," Blaise said a few minutes before class started.  

     "I simply don't care about what any other Slytherin thinks about me. After all, over a third of our parents were Death Eaters. Their opinion doesn't matter to me," Theo said darkly. 

     Ron whistled in emphasis. "Sorry, mate. Are they going to glare like that the rest of the year?"  

     Harry shrugged. "If they do, what does it matter to me?"  

     Ron nodded in understanding just as Professor Quirrel entered the classroom. 

     Harry had hoped that Defense Against the Dark Arts would be an interesting and exciting class, but it turned out Quirrel was too scared of his own shadow to even recite spells correctly. Also, Harry couldn't help but notice the pieces of garlic strewn in random places and the smell of garlic all over the room. He was relieved by the time that the class was over. He was disappointed that classes wouldn't be all that exciting, but he could always learn the spells himself. They would be useful in keeping attackers once he had finally removed the trace from his wand.  

     History of Magic, on the other hand, was painfully boring and Harry started doodling halfway through class. He might've been worried about his grades in the class if he hadn't already had read the book halfway through. The first few essays, at least, would be fairly easy to complete. At no other point had Harry been so thankful for the reading he had done before he went to class. He determined to stay ahead of the reading so he wouldn't fall behind. Meanwhile, he taught Blaise and Theo how to play hangman, a game which they quickly took to adding inappropriate and hilarious answers to.  

     The rest of the week went much the same way as that first day. He wasn't all that worried for his charms class, one which he was already ahead in due to years of wandless magic that he had to cast in the Dursley household. On the other hand, he was highly nervous for Transfiguration because it was taught by McGonagall. That day, he was glad he knew she could be kind because her teaching persona was very much not so. She was a stern teacher and had extremely high expectations for her students. It was a little overwhelming, but Harry enjoyed the class and couldn't wait until the next one. 

     Astronomy was really interesting. Harry had always liked the stars, simply because it was rare the time he actually had been able to see them before Snape and McGonagall had threatened the Dursleys. Mapping them, though, had been a lot more interesting. Looking at the sky map that was in his book, Harry noticed that Malfoy and Sirius Black both had been named after the stars. When Harry had asked about the coincidence, he had learned that the two were related.  

     "Really!?" Harry exclaimed as he sat on a large rock by the lake the next afternoon.  

     Lily nodded. "I think they're first cousins once removed. Narcissa Malfoy was Sirius's cousin." 

     "How did they come out so differently, then?" Harry asked out of curiosity. 

     "We _could_ tell you that they did, but they really didn't. While they came out on two opposite sides of the fight, I hate to admit that Sirius was nearly as bad as Malfoy. While Malfoy pretty much opposes all of the other houses, Sirius and I were often at fault of several malicious pranks towards your fellow housemates," James said as he fidgeted and looked away from Harry.  

     Harry thought about it for a moment. "Well...isn't that their entire family, then, that tends to be sort of...malicious?"  

     James nodded. "It's strange, really. Sirius was malicious towards the Slytherins, while his brother Regulus and his cousins Narcissa and Bellatrix both were highly anti-Gryffindor. It seems like Sirius's cousin Andromeda was light-years ahead of us. A bright Slytherin, but not malicious like her cousins and sisters."  

     Harry nodded in understanding. Basically, they never got over their schoolboy rivalries, which was fairly ridiculous if you ask Harry. He hadn't ever seen such a dysfunctional family, and he lived with the Dursleys.  

\------------------------- 

      By the Thursday afternoon, Harry had had every class except Potions and flying lessons. Flying lessons sounded fun. His dad had often told him of the tricks and stunts that he used to do when he was at Hogwarts, and he couldn't wait to start the lessons next week. Those wouldn't be a problem for Harry, he was sure of it. 

     Harry was more worried for his first Potions lesson. While Professor Snape had been fairly helpful and mostly tended to ignore Harry, Harry couldn't help but feel worried for the lesson. He was really worried about what would end up happening the next morning, and needed some way to calm down. 

     After debating it for several minutes, Harry got Basile and they headed outside. On the way there, though, Harry ended up walking through a ghost. He shivered as he turned around, the cold feeling familiar to that of his mother and father, except that the ghosts tended to be less uncomfortable to touch than two spirits. At least the ghosts felt like mist. All his parents felt like was cold, empty air.  

     Harry turned around and saw the Bloody Baron. He was about the apologize when the other ghost bowed and said, "It's been a long time since we have had a Master here at Hogwarts." 

     Harry's eyes widened. "W-what do y-you mean?" Harry stuttered in panic. It was pathetic really. He could lie to his teeth to even Professor Snape, who was actually pretty frightening most of the time, but he couldn't lie to a ghost. Perhaps because he could actually sense the ghosts in the castle. 

     At first, Harry hadn't known what was happening when he felt a shiver crawl down his spine in the presence of a ghost, but his parents had explained that he could feel the magic around any and all of the undead. It felt uncomfortable, if you asked Harry. They had also explained his control over the undead, and Harry had been waiting for this moment for a few days. He had been prepared to lie, but he hadn't expected this moment to happen so soon. 

     "Ah, Master Potter. You do not have to lie to us ghosts. We have noticed something off about you, but it wasn't until now that we realized what was going on. At first we thought it strange that two passed on spirits were constantly roaming the castle, but now it makes sense," the Bloody Baron replied softly. 

     Harry looked around, then sighed. "For how long have you suspected it?" 

     "Since you first stepped into Hogwarts. We felt the power shifts in the air. No one had the power to control us, or has had it since Tom Riddle walked these halls—and his was a learned practice, not instinctive. It's as if a minor weight has been chained to us since you stepped through the doorway. I haven't sensed that type of control in centuries," the Bloody Baron said.  

     Harry frowned. "What's the difference between a learned and a natural Necromancer?"  

     The Bloody Baron gave a low, semi-frightening chuckle. Harry held back a shiver and listened to the ghost's response. "Learned Necromancers have much limited skills. They can influence the actions and words of ghosts, but ghosts can always fight back against compulsion. Other than that, they do not have the ability to speak to the passed on, they cannot bring back the recently dead, and Death will not let them control the Hallows. He made the Hallows for Necromancers with innate ability, and they are to stay that way."  

     Harry heard slight gasps behind him. He turned around, and both Lily and James were staring in shock. "You don't mean--" James started, but was cut off.  

     The Bloody Baron nodded, "Yes, fellow, the Deathly Hallows. They exist, but we cannot talk about them with most mortals. Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore have both tried."  

     Harry frowned. "Well, would you mind keeping this a secret?" he asked the Bloody Baron, just wanting to go outside and take a walk.  

     The Bloody Baron bowed. "Yes, Master Potter." Then, the ghost disappeared through the wall and Harry couldn't help thinking that his year just got fifty times more complicated. 

     Harry couldn't help, though, when he asked his parents, "What are the Hallows?" 

     James frowned, but responded anyway. "A legend," James started, "from before the time of the founders." 

     "Well, obviously it's not a legend if the most serious and oldest ghost at Hogwarts just confirmed their existence," Harry muttered as he walked through the dark sidelines of the Hogwarts hallways. He didn't want someone overhearing him.  

     "No, I guess you're right," James conceded. "They are treated as a legend though. It is said that there were once three brothers, the Peverells--" 

     "The necromancers that the Bloody Baron talked about?" Harry asked a little more loudly as he was pretty far away from anyone in sight. 

     "It seems so. These brothers defied death by using magic to create a bridge to cross a deadly river. Death wanted to trick them into his hands, so he offered them all one gift of their choosing," James said as Harry walked away from any signs of students and closer to the forbidden forest than he had been thus far. 

     "These would be the Hallows, right?" asked Harry as he sat down on a tree trunk at the edge of the forest. 

     "Yes. The first brother, the oldest and heir to their family name, asked for the most powerful wand. Death gladly gave him the wand, a wand that would be coveted by others and would cause much bloodshed, including the gory beheading of the oldest brother. The second brother asked for a stone that would allow him to see his passed on beloved. He killed himself because his beloved became hollow and emotionless the longer she was forced to talk with her beloved through that stone. While it _did_  summon the spirit, your sight is much stronger because it naturally allows us to speak to you, rather than forcing us back onto Earth in a harsh and uncontrolled way."  

     "Wait, if the Peverells were Necromancers, why did the brother want a the stone?" Harry asked in confusion.  

     James frowned. "I have no idea." 

     "Maybe only the last brother was a Necromancer," Lily said as her silvery form sat up from her position on the ground in front of them. 

     Harry frowned. "If only the last brother was a Necromancer, why would Death offer all three of them gifts?" 

     "That's where that last part of the story comes into the picture," Lily said. "See, the last brother asked for something that would allow him to hide from Death until he was ready to face the spirit. So Death gave him a cloak of invisibility much more graciously than he would've offered it to someone who was not an innate Necromancer. If I had to assume, Death probably gave the other two brothers gifts as well, hoping that the third brother would attain both of them once the other two, the two he wanted dead, had their gifts." 

     "Why, though?" Harry asked as he stared at the sky. 

     Lily paused for a moment. "Despite Death's desire to rightfully obtain what is his, he respects Necromancers because of their abilities that only he can overcome. The third brother was not his because he is a Necromancer. Necromancers, in the eyes of Death, work by their own rules. It's common for Death to give gifts to those Necromancers that he comes across. All of those Greek myths of men that made it out of Hades despite Hades being the inescapable plane? Those were real Necromancers who had gone to permanently revive someone and failed. They may work by their own rules, but the souls of the long dead are rightfully Death's. Still, Death allowed them to remain living, simply because they were Necromancers and only those men could choose their time of death."  

     Harry thought about it for a second before nodding. "That makes sense. So what are the names of these three gifts?" 

     "Names?" Lily asked in confusion. 

     "Mum, these things are supposed legends. If that's the case, they probably have some vague, otherworldly name given to them over centuries," Harry said as he rolled his eyes. 

     Lily gave an exasperated sigh, and James answered in her stead. "The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility."  

     Harry rolled his eyes again. "Thought so," he muttered, before leaning back against the trees and closing his eyes. It wasn't until Blaise dumped lake water on his face that Harry woke up several hours later. He had turned Blaise's hair purple as payback, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be able to change an object's color until _at least_  next year. Thank the heavens that he actually is a bibliophile and can often use _that_  as his excuse.  


	13. Potions Classes and Scary Prospects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is up! Thank you, once again, to all of the comments and kudos I've gotten. I really appreciate that you guys are reading this, and your support inspires me to continue writing this. This chapter is slightly shorter, but still above 2000 words. I hope you guys like this, and I warn you now that I have direct dialogue from the first book in this chapter (Snape's potion speech, specifically). Enjoy!

     When Harry woke up the next morning, he was much more nervous than he had been any other morning. He knew it was because he was looking for approval from his mother's childhood friend, as well as his own rescuer. He didn't want Snape to think that he was good for nothing. If it came to that, he didn't know what he would do, especially since he was in the man's House.  

     Once he was out of the shower, Harry tried to find some comfort in his potions book, but he could not. When his friends woke up half an hour later, he struggled to remember what he had read, and wondered whether he had actually read anything at all. In the end, he gave up and instead talked to Basile while everyone else was in the bathrooms. 

     Harry sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. He was trying to calm himself down when Basile's hissing entered his ears. 

     " _What's wrong, Harry? You look like you're going to be sick_ ," Basile asked him. 

     Harry considered lying to his pet, but thought it would be better not to. He trusted Basile. Basile had been his first friend and he didn't want to alienate him because he refused to talk about his feelings to him.  

     " _I'm nervous for potions_ ," he answered sheepishly. When Basile gave him a confused look, Harry blushed and clarified, " _Snape's class_."  

     Basile seemed to understand and laid down on Harry's lap. " _Why? You just met the man a few weeks ago. It's not like you've known him your entire life_ ," Basile asked.  

     Harry thought about it. " _Honestly? The man is the first person to ever give me a_ _reprie_ _ve_ _...to punish my relatives for what they've done. I'm so incredibly grateful for that, and I want to impress him. I want him to be proud that he saved the one orphan kid of his ex-best friend._ _I don't want him to feel like I was a waste of time. I've...I've spent far too long feeling like I'm a waste of time and space. It isn't fair._ "  

     " _Ahh..._ " Basile hissed. " _I understand. Harry, I think you'll be fine._ _He_ _might be scary, but things will be fine._ " 

     While Harry didn't believe it, Basile's statement did calm him down. By the time that Blaise and Theo were out of the bathroom, Harry had talked with Basile enough that he didn't feel nearly as nervous. They headed down to breakfast and Harry took out his potions textbook to look at the first chapter again. He at least wanted to be prepared. 

     Everyone else was excitedly talking about the first potions class, some making predictions about how their first official potions class would go against the Gryffindors while Theo and Blaise were talking about what they would be learning and making comparisons between what their parents had told them. Meanwhile, Harry was quietly eating his breakfast.  

     He tried to avoid heading to potions as long as possible, but he didn't want to be late and eventually got off the seat and headed to potions. He was the last one of the Slytherin first years and only made it to class slightly earlier than Hermione, Neville and Ron. Harry sat with Theo and Blaise, while Ron took a table with Hermione and Neville.  

     He had just finished uncapping his ink before Professor Snape entered the classroom, closing the door loudly behind him. Harry stared in awe alongside the rest of his classmates as the man's robes billowed beside him before he turned around and stared at the rest of the class. Harry decided at that moment that he liked the Snape he met outside of the classroom a lot better than this one.  

     Almost immediately, the professor started taking roll. When he got to Harry's name, Harry was almost afraid of the look he was given, but he said nothing as he moved on. Then, he start lecturing the class, a lecture that Harry found highly interesting.  

     "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began, his voice in a captivating whisper that kept the class silent. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."* 

     Harry was writing down the speech as he listened to it, but that unfortunately caught the man's attention.  

     "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" 

     Harry looked up at Snape, his eyes catching the man's eyes. They were cold, and Harry couldn't help the shiver that went down his spine. 

     "He isn't testing you, is he?" Lily asked in a whisper behind him. 

     "Well?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.  

     Lily gasped and moved in front of Harry, but Harry didn't dare look away. "He's testing you, the jerk! Prove that whatever he's trying to prove is completely and absolutely wrong!" 

     Harry didn't nod, but he did do as Lily requested. He thought back to every single thing he had read in his textbook. It was in the introduction, that. He could remember it because he remembered how other textbooks used the same pretentious method of introducing super advanced material in the introduction of a beginner book.  

     "Draught of Living Death, sir," Harry said, sitting up straighter.  

     Snape gave no reaction but simply asked him another question.  

     "Where would you look, Potter, if I told you to find me a bezoar," Snape asked him. His entire body was still cold.  

     Harry was more confident as he answered this time. "The goat of a stomach, sir." 

     Harry thought he was done, but Snape asked him again. "What's the difference between monkshood and wolsbane?" 

     "Aconite, sir," Harry replied with determination.  

     Snape looked away almost immediately towards the rest of his classmates and reproached them for not writing down notes. Harry relaxed a bit, but Lily seemed to be furious.  

     "What a jerk! What does he think he's doing, testing you!?" Lily yelled, not afraid of being heard. Harry glanced at his dad, sitting on the floor beside him. He just looked smug. Harry was simply feeling confused. Where did the kinder man that had rescued him from the Dursleys gone? 

      Harry passed the rest of class in silence, frowning down at his Boil-Cure Potion. Luckily, nothing happened to him, although Hermione just barely managed to save Neville from causing a mess of his own potion. Throughout class, Snape's behavior bothered him. It seemed as if the man hated him, but it made no sense. The man had been nice enough, if somewhat strict and unemotional, when he had taken Harry to Diagon Alley.  

      At the end of class, Harry stayed behind, telling Blaise and Theo to go on ahead back to the common room. When Snape turned around and saw him there, he raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Potter, why are you not heading back to the common room?" 

     "Sir, I was wondering if I could ask you a question," Harry said quietly as he looked down at his fidgeting hands. When he didn't hear an answer, he looked up. It was as if the man from potions hadn't existed. This Snape had a warmer look in his eyes and was frowning.  

     A few seconds later, he sighed. "Mr. Potter, let's go to my office. You may ask me there," he said, and Harry nodded. He followed Snape through a hidden door in the classroom into a dark office full of shelves with books and potions ingredients. Snape sat at his desk and Harry reluctantly sat in the uncomfortable straight back chair in front of it.  

     Harry fidgeted as Snape looked at him. It seemed as if he was waiting for a response, so he tried to sit straighter, to give off the image of confidence. "Sir, I know this will seem arrogant and I don't want to anger you but..." 

     Harry paused and tried to find the correct words to tell the man. "But...?" Snape repeated, prompting Harry to ask his question. 

     "I was wondering about the way your...attitude...towards me...changed," Harry said, getting softer until his last words were whispers.  

     Snape stared at him, then snapped his fingers. A tea tray came out of a hidden crevice. When offered, Harry decided it would be better if he had something to make him more relaxed. As he grabbed his cup in his hands, he awaited the man's answer.  

     "Mr. Potter, there are many details you still do not know about the Dark Lord's death," Snape started. Harry was about to ask how that connected with anything, but Snape put up a hand. "While you did rid the world of a menace to humanity, no one really knows whether or not he was killed. Everyone simply assumed he was, but no body was found. His magical signature was completely absent that night, only yours in the room that day. Mr. Potter, if you hadn't found a body in a crime scene where that person supposedly died, what would you assume?" 

     Harry thought about it. "Naturally, I would assume the body was hidden," Harry said. 

     Snape nodded. "Yes, Mr. Potter, I guess you would, but you were a mere babe when Voldemort disappeared. The first person on the scene that night did not see a body or sense the Dark Lord's signature. Your parents' bodies were both sitting in that room and anyone that knew the location of your parents' hideout arrived later that night or had to be informed. So how did the body disappear?" 

     Harry's eyes widened, and he saw James and Lily stand straighter on both sides of him. He wanted to see their reactions, but he couldn't with Snape looking straight at him. "Are you saying, sir, that Voldemort may still be alive?"  

     Snape seemed to flinch slightly. "Yes, Mr. Potter. The headmaster has warned me that he will return. Whether or not it will actually happen, I do not know, but I may be needed again for spying duties if he does."  

     Harry put the rest together. "And if you're needed for spying duties, you'll need to prove that you are still as loyal as when you became a Death Eater." 

     Snape gave a curt nod. "Mr. Potter, you are most likely the Dark Lord's biggest enemy. I cannot have the Death Eater parents of some your fellow classmates doubting me if it turns out that I must spy on the Dark Lord's ranks again."  

     Harry nodded. "Are there any with Death Eater parents among my roommates?"  

     Snape nodded curtly again. "The fathers of Misters Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott."  

     Harry felt his eyes widen. "I mean...I knew about how Theo's dad treated him, but I didn't know the man was a Death Eater!"  

     He realized far too late that he had said something that he shouldn't have said. He groaned when Snape seemed to frown. "Treated him? How does Mr. Nott's father treat him?" 

     Harry moved around in his chair, and considered the circumstances. He decided that it would perhaps be better if he heard the story from Theo, especially since Harry only knew very few details from the train ride. "That's not mine to tell, sir. I've told Theo to talk to Professor McGonagall or to you, but I guess he hasn't yet."  

     Snape seemed surprised and nodded. "Then I shall wait as long as it is morally possible for Mr. Nott's request to talk. For now though, you should be getting back to your common room, Mr. Potter."  

     Harry nodded and stood up, turning around to go out the door before he paused for a moment. "Sir, will today be an indication for the next seven years?" he asked hesitatingly.  

     "It may be, Mr. Potter, but you are free to ask me about it if it makes you uncomfortable. Simply strive to do it when your classmates do not know you are hear," Snape said. Harry nodded and turned around again. He was nearly at the door when Snape's voice said, "Oh, and Mr. Potter. Our conversation stays among us, do you understand?" 

     Harry nodded. "Understood."  

     He exited the door and headed back to the common room. It looked like his Potions classes would be unpleasant at best for a long, long time.


	14. Hagrid, a Robbery, and the Family Swot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to all of my readers. I'm glad you like my work and I'll update this again as soon as possible. Thank you to all the new kudos and anyone that commented. Honestly, I feel like I'm dragging this beginning out, but I need to get a lot of this stuff out of the way before I can start rushing through the plot. Hopefully, the story line will start picking up the pace in the next couple of chapters. Thanks for sticking around, and enjoy!

     When Harry got back to the common room, he sat down on his bed and shut the curtains. Harry understood the perspective that his professor was coming from, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He sighed and stroked Basile, hissing quietly at him. Everyone had left to go outside or to the library by the time that he had finished. He had made sure that no one had remained in the room, then started talking to Basile.  

     " _Potions went pretty badly,_ " Harry said to his snake as he leant his head back against the headboard. 

     " _I'm sorry, Harry. I guess I thought Snape was better than the other adults_ ," Basile said quietly from underneath Harry's hand. 

     Harry sighed. " _He is, Basile. It's just that he needs to act hateful in case that he ever needs to spy again. I just don't like it. One of the two adults that I actually trust can't be someone that I trust._ " 

     Basile stayed quiet for several minutes. Basile relaxed himself while Harry stayed trapped in his thoughts. " _Why don't you go to that giant man's hut?_ " Basile asked him after a few minutes. 

     Harry thought it over. The man seemed nice enough, but he was incredibly boisterous. Harry didn’t know if he had the energy necessary to deal with someone like that at that moment. But he knew his parents and was someone that he could talk to about their lives—the embarrassing aspects of their childhoods that they were trying to hide from him, that is. " _Yeah. I think I will do that_. _Want me to take you outside to hunt?_ " 

     " _Please?_ " Basile responded hopefully. Harry laughed, and dragged his rucksack out from under his bed, muttering about lazy snakes with no cold tolerance.  

     Once Harry had his rucksack ready, he walked outside to the common room. Apparently, everyone was hanging around somewhere else except for the few upperclassmen sitting here and there. Harry walked out of the common room and up the stairs into the entrance hall. Once outside, he opened his rucksack, making sure no one was around, and told Basile to be careful. Then, he walked in the apparent direction of Hagrid's hut.  

     Hagrid's hut was situated near the gates beside the Forbidden Forest. Harry walked in that direction, but was afraid of knocking on the door. What if he had company? What if Hagrid changed his mind? 

     Harry didn't have to make up his mind in the end, because the front door was opened. Hagrid looked at Harry in surprise. 

     "Harry! Ye' came!" Hagrid exclaimed with a grin. 

     "Hello," Harry said timidly. Timid was always good. It made people think you were harmless. 

     They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds until Hagrid invited Harry into the building. Harry thanked him and was surprised to see Ron and Hermione both sitting in the hut.  

     "Hi," Harry said with a smile to both. Ron and Hermione smiled.  

     "Hello, Harry," Hermione said politely.  

     "Hey, mate. How's your week in the snake pit been going?" Ron said with a cheeky grin on his face. 

     Harry grinned back. "Okay enough. Malfoy's a prat, Crabbe and Goyle can't make any of their own decisions, and Pansy's vicious, but everyone else is being pretty nice. How about yours in the lion's den?" 

     Hermione piped up at that question. "Parvati and Lavender are absolutely insufferable with their comments about my hair, but the boys have all been pretty nice."  

     "I think Parvati and Lavender are nice enough," Ron said incredulously.  

     "Because you're a boy and not their competition," Harry heard Hermione mutter her breath.  

     Ron frowned. "That's not true. Any of the Gryffindor guys could be their competition as well. Just depends on which ones are actually bent. My brother Charlie's bisexual," Ron said as he looked at Hermione. 

     Harry and Hermione looked at each other with blushes on their faces. Growing up in the muggle world, both of them knew that sexuality was something people their age didn't discuss. It was strange to hear Ron so casually mention it, and Ron seemed to notice their discomfort as well.  

     "What?" Ron asked, moving his head between Harry and Hermione. 

     Harry shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry. It's just that muggles don't really talk about that stuff," Harry said. "Especially not my relatives," he muttered under his breath. 

     Ron looked at both of them with furrowed eyebrows. "Really? That's not something many people care about in the wizarding world. You might have a pureblood git here and there that doesn't like it because it goes against their ideal of an heir, but most don't care," Ron explained to them. 

     Harry and Hermione nodded. It was nice to hear that yet something else was accepted. "So is it basically just blood that the wizarding world is so split about?" Harry asked as he sat at the table. 

     Ron scowled. "Pretty much, and the Malfoy family are the leaders of that group. My dad told me that Lucius Malfoy tried to argue that muggleborns shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts just last year." 

     Hermione put the pieces together before Ron had even finished his statement. "Because his son entered Hogwarts this year, right?" 

     Ron nodded. "That's what everyone thinks. Malfoy didn't try to deny it, so everyone is saying that's the reason why." 

     All of them scowled at that prospect. Harry hadn't liked his own relatives very much, but his mother had been a muggleborn witch, and a great one at that. Hermione seemed alright, and Harry knew that there were plenty of muggles out there that, while cowards, were not bad people. For someone to think that having muggle blood is bad, they would have to be pretty blinded to the world.  

     "If ye' could stop talkin' about those Malfoys, my house wouldn' feel so gloomy," Hagrid said as he re-entered the house with a big dog in hand. Harry flinched as the dog looked at him, years of running away from Marge's dogs conditioned into him.  

     "Sorry, Hagrid," Hermione said with a sheepish smile on her face.  

     Harry continued to stare at the giant dog in front of him. He didn't notice that James and Lily had suddenly appeared in front of him, having left once he entered the common room, or that the three live humans in the room were all staring at him in confusion. 

     "Harry," Lily whispered softly to him, getting close enough to Harry that he could feel the temperature difference, but refusing to touch him. "It's alright, Harry. You're okay. That's not Marge's dog," she whispered quietly.  

     James stood on Harry's other side and said, "Breathe, Harry. In and out." Harry followed his instructions and managed to calm his beating heart. That's when he looked around at Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione, and saw that they were all staring at him. Harry smiled sheepishly. 

     "Sorry. Aunt Marge's dogs aren't pleasant to be around," he said, then opted to change the topic before anyone could give him pity stares. "So you said you knew Mum and Dad, right Hagrid?" 

     Hagrid nodded. "Amazing people, that they were. Yer father was a brave man, and yer mum was just as brave." 

     Harry smiled. "I can guess that they were if they died for me," he said softly, staring down at his teacup.  

     "Ye' have her eyes, ye' know," Hagrid added as an after comment as he sat down.  

     Harry smiled. "You aren't the first or last person to tell me that," Harry said with a smile.  

     Hagrid gave Harry a grin. Silence ensued for a few minutes when Hermione grabbed a newspaper that was sitting underneath a plate. She read it and then jumped. "There was a robbery at Gringotts? I thought that was the safest bank in the world?"  

     Harry looked towards Hermione and then back towards Hagrid. "That's what Professor...McGonagall told me as well," Harry said casually. He was lucky he didn't accidentally say the other man's name. Now that he knew about the spying, it would be bad if he told anyone about the amiable relations between himself and the man.  

     Before Hagrid could respond, Hermione added, "It was already empty? Did the owner know that the robbery was going to happen?"  

     Hagrid took the newspaper back roughly and said, "That's none 'a yer business. The goblins'll get the robber, and they won' tell who's the owner." 

     Harry stared at Hagrid for a moment, but the conversation soon moved on. Still, Harry couldn't help but feel bothered by the few statements Hermione had said. If Gringotts is really the safest bank in the world, how did someone rob it and what was in that vault that they were desperate enough to rob Gringotts? Furthermore, it didn't make sense that the vault was empty. People don't just expect a robbery to happen. 

     Once Harry left Hagrid's hut, he started talking to his mum and dad about what he had learned, seeing as no one was near him to hear their conversation. 

     "There's something wrong about that incident at Gringotts," Harry said as he walked back to the castle, having grabbed Basile from near the forest beforehand.  

     "My family has been around for hundreds of years, and I've _never_  heard of someone successfully robbing Gringotts," James said as they walked alongside Harry.  

     "What would they want that they would stupidly rob the most secure bank in the world?" Harry said. "I'm pretty sure the vicious goblins aren't very merciful." 

     "They're not. Anyway, I'm more worried about Hagrid's reaction," Lily said with a frown on her face. 

     "Hagrid's reaction?" Harry asked. He had simply assumed that Hagrid thought they were too young to be discussing this.  

     Lily looked away sheepishly. "Severus and I used to visit Hagrid a lot. You know he's worried about something when he gets aggressive. While giants may be aggressive, half-giants are actually the least aggressive people you may meet." 

      Harry stared at his mother. "So he actually is a giant?" Harry asked curiously.  

      "Half-giant," James corrected. "His mum was a giant, his dad was a human." 

     Harry pushed his thoughts away from the nagging thought of how _that_  type of relationship even worked in the first place and instead said, "Well, whatever happened at Gringotts has something to do with either him or Hogwarts." 

     James and Lily both nodded, but the conversation ended after that. It wasn't until Harry was back in his room and he had successfully cast a silencing charm—half the time, he still couldn't manage to get it done, as it was a higher level spell—that he brought up the other conversation topic. 

     "What do you think about Snape's behavior?" Harry asked. He wanted to know what his parents thought of the way he was treated in class. 

     "The greasy git can go shove his spying role up his--"  

     "James!" Lily exclaimed in interruption. "What have I told you about cursing around our son?"  

     James looked sufficiently put out. "Not to do it," he said like a child that had been told off.  

     Lily nodded. Then frowned. "I didn't exactly appreciate his behavior, but I can understand where he's coming from. I wonder why he believes Voldemort will come back, though." 

     Harry thought about it. "It might have been Dumbledore that said something about it. He was the one in charge. Maybe there's something we missed when Voldemort was killed?" 

     "Neither of us could tell you if you're right or wrong, mate. Our spirits were still floating in the middle barrier when you killed him," James said with a shake his head.  

     "The middle barrier?" Harry asked in confusion. 

     "The time right after death when the dead can successfully be brought back to life instead of turning them into an Inferius, which is a dead body that acts like a puppet," Lily explained to Harry. 

     Harry blanched. "People actually make things like that?" He asked incredulously. 

     "Voldemort did," James said casually, and Lily turned to glare at him. Harry would've smirked at the cowering form of his father underneath his mother's stare, but he was too busy trying not to puke.  

     "How do you know so much about Necromancers, mum?" Harry asked as he thought about all of the questions that he had asked, all of which had been answered or somehow responded to by Lily. 

     Although his parents were both spirits with no actual body or bodily functions, the translucency on his mother's cheeks lessened. Harry wondered if that was the closest thing to a blush that a dead person could manage. "I did some research during my stint with the Aurors," she said with a sheepish grin. "We were discussing necromancy and its practicers during one of my shifts. I was curious on a lot of the questions that came up and decided to use the Hogwarts, Potter family, and Ministry libraries to do research." Lily grimaced and continued. "Some of the stuff I found was...unpleasant, to say the least, but a lot of it was quite fascinating. The theories behind necromancy, the powers of a learned necromancer in contrast to a necromancer with innate ability, and the ways in which necromancy can be used for either good or bad. Interactions with Death was also interesting because it contrasts so much. You would think that the moment a perosn died, their soul became Death's property, but it actually depends. As long as a soul remains in the middle barrier, something that changes from person to person, it can be realigned with the person's body." 

     Harry and James both looked at Lily with widened eyes. "You learned that much from two libraries that were mainly cleaned of the Dark Arts and one that was restricted to certain authority levels?" James asked Lily in wonder. 

     Lily nodded her head. "It took me about three weeks—up until the end of my time with the Aurors—which is a lot longer than it might've taken me otherwise." 

     "Mum, you were a swot," Harry said jokingly, and she frowned playfully. 

     "We both know I'm not the only swot around here," Lily said in a chastising tone.  

     Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, because I would've spent three weeks researching something that I didn't need to know." 

     Lily rolled her own eyes. "Okay, so maybe I was one. You should be grateful. At least I know how to explain your powers to you."  

     Harry grinned. "I am."  


	15. Flying Lessons and Scheming Quidditch Captains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that. Another update only a few days later! I hope you guys like this chapter. I would've posted it yesterday, but I changed the ending. The original was simply too much like another fanfic that I had read before, and I didn't want it to sound plagiarized. There is exactly one sentence in this chapter that I took word for word from the novel, and it's noted with an asterisk. Other than that, thank you to anyone that left a comment (comments motivate me to write faster, hint, hint. yes, that was shameless comment fishing and I regret nothing), and thank you to anyone that gave this work kudos. I hope you enjoy!

     On Monday, the notification went up in the Slytherin common room informing first years of their flying lesson with Madam Hooch alongside the Gryffindor class. While none of his friends looked particularly excited, Harry couldn't help it. After all the Quidditch stories his dad had told him, Harry was happy to finally try out flying. He was also nervous because he didn't know if he would actually be a good flyer, although James reassured him constantly that he had flying in his genes. 

     It was Wednesday and Harry was sitting in the common room—both of his parents having disappeared earlier that day—talking to Theo and Blaise when he brought the topic up again. 

     "But what if I'm not as good as everyone thinks I'll be?" Harry asked them as they sat on the couch doing their Transfiguration homework.  

     Surprisingly, it was neither Blaise nor Theo that actually responded. They just rolled their eyes, having heard similar worries several times the past three days. Instead, it was Malfoy that sneered out, "Potter, your father was one of Hogwarts' best Chasers, even if he was a bloody Gryffindor. You'll be _fine_." 

     Harry looked at Malfoy in surprise. Even if his statement was hidden underneath a few layers of rudeness and irritation, Harry could tell that he was trying to reassure Harry in his own twisted way. He nodded his thanks. 

     "Well, whatever happens tomorrow, I'll just be glad if I don't fall off of a broom and smash my face to the ground," Harry muttered. 

     "You'll be fine, Potter," another voice repeated from behind Harry and Harry stiffened. He saw as the voice came to the middle of the group of first years. He was much taller than them, probably a fifth or sixth year, and had a cold air about him. Harry was intimidated until he saw the mirth in the boy's eyes. Harry realized it was a mask and relaxed. 

     "How would you know, Flint?" Blaise asked, looking up at the boy. 

     "Snape has the Quidditch captain observe the first year flying lessons every year as part of our practices. As captain, I'll be there watching you guys," Flint stated as he sat down in one of the chairs beside the couches.  

     "Why?" Harry asked, probably somewhat naively as every person turned to look at him with an incredulous glint in his or her eye. 

     "Well, obviously to get a feel for the talent this year," Daphne said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Marcus here has to report back to Snape both talent on our team for any possible members next year, and any possible members on other teams. It's the Slytherin thing to do," she ended with a shrug. 

     Harry blushed and gave a whispered "Oh," as he went back to his Transfiguration essay. The conversation ended there and Marcus left soon afterwards.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     The next afternoon, Harry, Theo, and Blaise headed out to the grounds and stood beside the other Slytherins as the Gryffindors arrived. Once everyone was there, Madam Hooch commanded everyone to stand beside a broom. When they were told to raise the brooms, Harry, Malfoy, and Ron were the only students that successfully managed to summon their brooms. They tried several times again, and Harry saw Marcus Flint standing to the side. He was sitting near the wall, apparently working on an essay, but Harry could easily see that he was actually spying on the lesson. When Harry caught his eye, the older boy raised his eyebrow, seemingly impressed by Harry's first tries, all of which had been successful.  

     Unfortunately, things went downhill when Neville's broom went out of control. The poor boy fell off of his broom and sprained his wrist. In hindsight, it was probably not a good idea for Madam Hooch to leave the two rival houses alone together, but Neville had been hurt and no one had been there to watch.  

     Malfoy started making fun of Neville afterwards, and Harry shifted uncomfortably as Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle started laughing alongside their friend. He didn't Neville to be made fun of. He knew all too well in what position the boy had been in. It only got worse from there as Malfoy snatched up a colorful glass ball from the ground. Harry didn't know what it was, but his question was answered soon afterwards.  

     "Look at this. It's the stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him," Malfoy said.* 

     Harry heard as Lily told him about the Remembrall, and he stepped forward. "Malfoy, I'll take that back to Neville, if you don't mind."  

     Malfoy looked at Harry with a sneer on his face. "What, Potter? Are you sticking up for the other house instead of your own?"  

     Harry saw from his peripheral vision as Flint stood up from the ground dropping his books. Harry ignored him and said, "No. It's just the proper thing to do. After all, people trust you more if you're nice to them." 

     Malfoy sneered again. "How you even managed to make it into Gryffindor, Potter, is beyond all of us. If you want the stupid thing, you're gonna have to catch me." 

     Harry stiffened as Malfoy took off on his broom, and them considered the consequences. While he didn't want to get in trouble, Neville didn't deserve to lose his grandmother's gift. After giving a small sigh, he went up on his own broom. 

     "Malfoy!" he yelled. "I don't care what you think of me or Neville! Just give me the ball!" 

     Malfoy didn't stop and continued flying away. "You're a disgrace to Slytherin House, Potter!" 

     "I. Don't. Care! Anyway, you'd think you were nicer to people! It's easier to manipulate people when you're _nice_ to them! Who's the disgrace to Slytherin here, you prat!?" Harry yelled in frustration as he chased after him. 

     Suddenly, Malfoy stopped and he gave Harry an angered expression. "Fine! You want it so bad? Take it!" Harry watched in dismay as Malfoy threw the ball away from them.  

     Harry, at that moment, thought about how hectic his life was, then flew after the ball. At any other time, Harry would've loved being on a broom and flying. It was an amazing feeling. He could feel the air pulling his hair away from his face, the sun shining completely on him, and the exhilarating feeling of being completely free from gravity. At that moment, though, he was too worried about catching the ball. Just as both he and the ball were about to hit the ground, Harry caught it. That's when he saw McGonagall striding into the grounds with a fierce expression on her face. Harry gulped. 

     "HARRY POTTER! What do you think you're doing, flying like that!? You could've broken a bone! Or your neck! Not even your father was this utterly reckless!" McGonagall yelled. Harry flinched at her words. Oh, he was in _so much_ trouble.  

     "But--" someone said, trying to defend him, but they were interrupted. 

     "No, Mr. Weasley. This was reckless and they clearly did not follow instructions. Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, come with me. _Now,_ " McGonagall said, and Harry nodded in dismay. He and Malfoy followed the woman off the grounds and into the entrance hall. Once he realized they were heading towards the dungeons, Harry slumped. If McGonagall was bad, Snape was going to be absolutely horrid.  

     McGonagall knocked on the door to Snape's office. "Enter," the man's voice replied from the inside, and the witch pushed both of them into the office before entering herself and shutting the door. 

     The moment Snape saw them, Harry could see the look in his eyes that told he was expecting this to happen at some point. "What happened, Minerva?" he asked wearily. Harry guessed that the man hadn't had a very good day. 

     "I found Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter here flying without permission. Apparently, Mr. Potter was trying to retrieve Mr. Longbottom's Remembrall when Mr. Malfoy had taken it from the ground where the boy had dropped it. I found Mr. Potter flying as if he were some seventh year seeker. The danger, Severus!" McGonagall said. Although she was obviously angry, her words bothered Harry. It almost sounded to Harry like she was trying to compliment him while keeping up her act.  

     He looked at Snape's eyes for a moment, and he saw a glint in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. "I'll take care of it, Minerva." 

     McGonagall nodded and left the room. Once she did, Snape looked at both Harry and Malfoy with a cold expression on his face. Harry tried not to flinch as he looked at his hands. 

     "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, what did I say last week about house loyalty?" Snape said curtly, and Harry then did flinch. 

     "That you didn't care for our petty rivalries as long as we didn't stage them in public," Harry replied quietly.  

     "The two of you have broken that rule and given those in other houses a possible weakness they can attack. They see now that personal opinion has split the first year Slytherins, and don't assume that they will not use that as an opportunity to attack. But I will assume that that will not be sufficient punishment for either of you. Mr. Malfoy, you and Mr. Potter will see me for detention tomorrow evening. Mr. Potter, you will come in for an additional detention on Saturday morning," Snape said, and Harry slumped. He knew it was coming, the favoritism, but he didn't like it, and didn't want it happening. "You're dismissed."  

     Harry and Malfoy both got up from their chairs and left the room. Harry sighed as he exited the room and left Malfoy at the hallway—he really didn't have the patience to deal with Malfoy right now. Instead, he went up to the infirmary. He had a remembrall to deliver.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

     Marcus Flint was excited. No, nevermind excited, he was _ecstatic._  Marcus had been worried all summer, especially once he received news that he had been made the new quidditch captain, that they would not live up to standards without their old seeker, who had graduated last year. It's not like Terence Higgs wasn't a decent player, but he wasn't meant to be a seeker. He was too tall for the position and worked better in his position from the previous year as a chaser. Even so, Marcus had accepted that Higgs would be his seeker until someone better came up. 

     Marcus hadn't thought that someone better would turn up so _soon_. The Flint family wasn't particularly light or dark. They just _were_. The Flints stayed out of conflicts, including the previous war; therefore, Marcus had no problem accepting the Potter spawn into Slytherin. He wasn't excited to have the boy in their house, but he didn't really hate him either. In his eyes, Harry Potter was just another eleven year old brat that would learn how hard magic really was once they had to deal with their O.W.L.s in fifth year.  

     Then, Potter had shown his talent on the very first day of flying lessons. The amount of power that boy had was overwhelming! What the boy had displayed out on the grounds had been pure, raw talent. Marcus didn't think the boy even knew how amazing he could become if they could manage to train him. He could be an amazing seeker, and he would be if Marcus had any say in the matter. 

     At this moment, Marcus was flying up the stairs to meet the Slytherin quidditch team in the empty classroom that they often used to discuss strategy and games. He had called a meeting only minutes beforehand using a means that the previous captain had taken to using to get messages across. He knew that Professor Snape was a stickler for rules, even the ones that he has to follow, so he knew that going straight to the man and asking him to allow Potter an exception wouldn't do him any good. No, what he had to do was organize the team together and get them all on the same boat. If the entire team argued Potter's case, then the chances that Potter could actually become Slytherin's best seeker were extremely good. Marcus wanted that boy on his team, and he would use any means possible to get it. 

     "Marcus, what's this meeting about?" asked Adrian Pucey, one of his team's chasers, when he entered the room. 

     Marcus gave a wide grin, and the entire team reeled in shock. In five years that the team had known their captain, they had never seen him smile or otherwise show any positive emotion. If someone did something well, he would give them backhanded compliments. Seeing an _actual genuine_  smile on his face was something that sent the entire team into shock. 

     "I have found us the perfect seeker," Marcus started. 

     "But Flint, we already have a seeker," Lucian Bole said, pointing in the direction of Terence Higgs. 

     Higgs shrugged off the comment and said, "I don't care, Bole. I'm not comfortable in the position. If Flint's found us a good seeker, I'm all up for going back to chaser." 

     Bole narrowed his eyes, but Higgs gave him a cheery grin. The beater shook his head, but said nothing. Instead, he turned back to Flint and said, "Who are we looking at?" 

     "Harry Potter," Marcus said with a smirk. 

     Marcus expected the arguments. 

     "He's a first year!" Peregrine Derrick, the other beater, exclaimed. 

     "Why would we want Potter on the team!?" Keeper Miles Bletchley asked incredulously as he crossed his arms.  

     "There's no way Snape would even let him into the team!" Derrick continued.  

     Pucey, Bole, and Higgs looked fairly relaxed. They seemed to have no problems with the plan that was brewing in Marcus's mind, and he nodded to them in appreciation. Then, he turned back towards the others and asserted the authority afforded to him as quidditch captain.  

     "Enough!" Marcus yelled, and the exclamations against Potter quieted. "I know Potter isn't exactly what some of your families would agree with, but you should've seen the boy out there when he was flying! That boy has pure talent, and I want to hone that talent. Better for us to have him than had Gryffindor laid their hands on him. If he would've made Gryffindor like all of his family before him, we would've been troubled to find someone that could actually compete against him for the snitch. With _him_  on our team, we would be undefeated for a long time!" Marcus explained in excitement, the grin still not having lost its position on his face.  

     Derrick and Bletchley looked intrigued, if still fairly skeptical. "What makes you say that?" Derrick asked with a raised eyebrow. 

     Marcus gave a smirk, and said, "He caught a remembrall milliseconds before slamming into the ground. If I had to guess, I'd say he was going at a sixty-five degree slope." 

     The eyes of every person on the team widened at that comment. "Was this at their first lessons?" Pucey asked in curiosity.  

     Marcus nodded. "While I don't know the exact details, apparently this was his first time flying. He was really excited and nervous when I was in the common room yesterday." 

     Their eyes only grew wider, and many of them now had grins on their faces. "If that's not seeker material, than I don't know what is!" Higgs said excitedly as the prospect entered his mind. 

     Marcus nodded with glee. Unfortunately, they still had a problem, and Bletchley was more than happy to point that out. "Still, Snape isn't going to want to accept him."  

     Marcus grinned again, at which the team narrowed their eyes. "That's why I'm here. If we band together, Snape won't be happy, but he'll be willing to allow Potter onto the team." 

     "Won't the first year rule get in the way?" Bole asked with furrowed eyebrows. 

     It was Pucey that shook his head. "No. That rule is one made by the Heads of Houses a few centuries ago after too many first years had accidents on the field. It isn't actually in the charter, and a Head of House can easily overturn it if they find it necessary."  

     The entire team looked at each other and thought about the prospects for their team that year. If they could manage to get Potter on their team and working successfully, they would be invincible.


	16. Quidditch Teams and Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been meaning to write the rest of the chapter, and when better to update than when you have a test in 45 minutes??? Yeah, I'm trash. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter. I might change that ending, but I'm not sure....

   Several days later, an owl arrived at Harry's table during breakfast. Initially, he didn't think it was for him (Who would send _him_ mail? The _Dursleys_? Yeah, right.), but when the owl continued to stand in front of him, Daphne finally admonished him. 

     "Just grab the note, Potter," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "It's _obviously_ for you." 

     Harry fidgeted for another moment before he grabbed the note. When he opened it, he found it was from Snape and almost didn't finish reading it out of fear of what would lie in there. While being called in to a professor's office wasn't the best thing in the world it wasn't the worst. 

     He scrunched up the paper and stuffed it in his book bag, making a mental reminder to go to Snape's office that afternoon.  

\------------------------- 

     "Come in," a familiar baritone said. Harry opened the door hesitatingly, as he didn't know if his Head of House would act like Snape or (as Harry had been calling him mentally in part because of his mother) Severus. When he saw that his Head of House didn't have a painted scowl on his face, he held back a grin and entered the room with more confidence.  

     When Harry sat down, Snape put aside his paperwork and stared at Harry for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as if he has a headache. Harry, started to worry until the man in front of him finally spoke.  

     "Mr. Potter, Mr. Flint has requested that I allow you to perform a tryout for the quidditch team," the man said, resignation in his voice. 

     Harry felt his eyes widen as he stared at the man. "A tryout, sir?" he asked timidly, unsure if he had actually heard the statement correctly. 

     "Yes, Mr. Potter. A tryout. My hand has been forced by all six current members of the Slytherin quidditch team and, therefore, I will allow you to tryout for the seeker position if you so wish," Snape explained to Harry. 

     Harry stayed silent for a few seconds, digesting the words that he had been told by the man in front of him. "What do you mean, your hand has been forced?" 

     "If none of your classmates have told you, first year students are prohibited from playing on a quidditch team, mainly due to the safety risks that run with playing the game. Even so, the rule is not a part of the Hogwarts charter and we, as the Heads of Houses, can choose exceptions to the rule. While we normally do not allow exceptions, a Head of House, by tradition, needs to allow a tryout for a normally ineligible student if the rest of that house's team requests it." 

     Harry nodded in understanding. "I'd like to try out for the position, sir, but I don't have a broom or robes." 

     "Those items will both be provided to you by the team members," Snape replied immediately. 

     Harry grinned and said, "When's the try out?" 

\------------------- 

     On Friday, just over a week since that disastrous flying lesson, Harry went to the quidditch pitch. When he arrived, the team was waiting for him. While Flint, albeit looking serious, was more relaxed, the rest of the team stared at him in scrutiny. It wasn't until after the try out, when Harry had apparently out-flown all of them, caught the snitch several times, and avoided a few nasty bludgers that the team stared at him with grins on their faces, some more reluctantly than others.  

     "Congrats, Potter," Flint had said, clapping him on the shoulder as they walked back to the changing rooms. "It looks like you made the team. First practice is next weekend." 

     Harry had simply nodded, overwhelmed by the fact that he had made it. He had accepted the opportunity to try out for the team more for the experience rather than the actual chance itself. He hadn't expected to make it, but that was certainly a nice added benefit of trying out. His parents had been the first to congratulate him, right there at his side the moment his broom landed, and giving him wide grins when Flint had told him the news. Nearly all of the first years had congratulated him as well, from Pansy's backhanded compliments (it seems you don't suck) to Theo's eager congratulatory words.  

     Later that day, Harry had gone to Snape's office to inform him about the results of his tryout, though Harry was certain that the man had already found out from one of the other team members. He had spent a good hour looking through the broom catalogue until he found the Nimbus 2000 he wanted. It was apparently the best broom in the market, and Harry thought he would indulge himself just a bit since he had more money than he cared to ever need. That, and James had eagerly told him to take the broom, since it would last him several years before he needed a new one and would beat all of the school brooms that most of the members of the house teams had to use.  

\---------------- 

      On Sunday afternoon, Harry was heading up towards the Gryffindor dorms from the library when he heard a noise coming from the door in the third floor corridor. Harry was curious as to what was in there, but Lily was trying to dissuade him.  

     "Harry, you aren't supposed to be here," Lily told him sagely as he neared the door. 

     James, on the other hand, was all for exploration. "Come on, Lil'. He'll be fine. There's no one here right now," James stated.  

     "James, I will not have you making our son into a complete trouble maker," Lily said sternly, then pointed her finger in Harry's direction and said, "No." 

     Harry was about to argue when he heard footsteps behind him around the corner. Harry hurried away from the door, but was stopped by Professor McGonagall. 

     "Mr. Potter, what are you doing on this floor?" McGonagall said, her expression stern. 

     "Heading towards Gryffindor tower, Ma'am. I was going to meet Hermione and Ron there," Harry replied. He wasn't exactly lying, but he also wasn't exactly telling her everything either. 

     The stern professor frowned, but simply dismissed him. Harry nodded and headed in the direction of Gryffindor tower. Even though, something was nagging him and Harry decided he would find out what was going on with the third floor corridor.  

\----------------------- 

     "Harry, of all the idiotic things you could do, this has _got_ to be the worst thing possible," Lily said as Harry walked out of the common room. He knew that Snape was walking around in the dungeon corridors, but his dad was keeping track of the man. His mum had wanted no part in their plan, but was too worried about her son to let him wander through the castle on his own.  

     Harry said nothing, but merely nodded in understanding. He didn't particularly agree with her, and had actually hid himself under a few of the weaker charms that he knew, but he didn't need to voice that. It would only lead to more lectures from his mother, and it would be easier to do this if he didn't have to reply to her.  

      Harry walked quietly. While James had reassured Harry that the ghosts would ignore him, simply because he was walking under their protection, Harry still hid in the shadows. He nearly ran into Peeves at one point, but James had whispered for him run into one of the empty rooms. Peeves had paused in front of the door to said room, but he had left it alone in the end, much to Harry's relief.  

     As the corridor came into sight, Harry stepped as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake up any of the portraits. Unfortunately, Filch was waiting right in front of the entrance to the third floor corridor when he got there.  

     "What do I do now?" Harry whispered to his dad, completely ignoring his mum's mutterings about delinquent boys and their inability to listen to common sense.  

     James stared thoughtfully at the door. "I don't know, mate. Filch has always been a tough one to deal with. I'd say just leave it for tonight. There's not much you can do without some experienced magic," James replied. 

     Harry stared at the doorway in dismay. While he was determined to find out what was hiding within those walls, he simply could not afford to get in trouble, especially not with the detentions his head of house was assigning him.  

\-------------------- 

     Harry had been planning the break in into the third floor corridor all week, but it turned out he hadn't even needed it. One day, as he was walking with Theo and Blaise from charms, they passed the third floor corridor and heard footsteps coming from the corridor. Using that opportunity, Harry had pretended that he had forgotten something in the charms classroom and gone back. When he got to the corridor with the doorway, though, there was nobody there.  

     At that moment, Mrs. Norris had shown up. 

     "Nice cat," Harry mumbled, as he backed away from her, but she simply continued to stand there and meow. When it became obvious that she was calling to her owner, Harry ran in the other direction. Even so, he couldn't find any other doorways except the one from earlier. He stood there for a minute listening for any sounds, but nothing came.  

     Harry had started to walk away, when he heard brisk footsteps coming in his direction. Quickly and swiftly, Harry reached the door, but couldn't open the handle. 

    "It doesn't open!" Harry exclaimed in a whisper. 

    "Harry, you're a _wizard_!" his mum replied in exasperation.  

    Harry stared at her blankly for a second before he realized what she was alluding to. "Oh," he muttered as he ignored his wand in favor of opening the door wandlessly. He didn't have time to waste on his wand.  

     Entering quickly, Harry closed the door, but stopped it before it could be slammed. He fell onto the floor with relief, but it didn't last long. 

     "Harry, whatever you do, _do not_  open your eyes," Lily said calmly. 

     Harry's heart began to race at her tone. That tone usually meant bad things. It meant Vernon was angry. It meant Dudley was being nastier than usual. It meant Aunt Marge had brought one of her dogs with her. 

     Harry squeezed his eyes shut and listened around the room. That's when he heard it: a deep inhale and exhale alongside low, steady rumbling. Harry squeezed his harder and whispered, "Is Filch gone." 

     "Yes, Harry. Now open the door," James said steadily. Harry nodded and reached back. He found the door and opened it _very slowly._ Harry heard the growling get slightly louder, but the breathing stayed the same. He scooched back slowly, but in the end tumbled out as the creature within the door attacked him.  

     Before the door closed completely, Harry got a glimpse at the creature in front of him. It was a black, three-headed dog that sent memories of Marge's dogs running through his head. He shivered and locked the door using a spell that was uttered in his ear. He tried to get up again, but he lost his grip and fell forward. He held back the contents of his stomach that wanted to come up, and waited several minutes until the fear passed, James and Lily both whispering softly to him as they sat beside him.  

     Once Harry was feeling better, Lily remarked, "I _told_  you not to do that." 

     Harry gave a half-hearted smile. "Yeah, I guess you did." 


	17. A Conversation Between Masters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the three month delay, guys. I've been busy with my college coursework (and writer's block). But hopefully this chapter will let me get back into this story. I'll try my best to get my shit together during break, so that updates come more frequently in the upcoming semester. Thank you to anyone that gave kudos and to anyone that was waiting for an update to this. It's shorter than my normal chapters, but I thought posting this would be better than posting nothing at all.

     When Harry arrived back to the common room after that incident, he tried to act casual, but could tell that he was hardly fooling anyone. The entire incident tired him out and he decided to go to bed early after spending several hours doing homework, something which, in itself, told any outsider that Harry was indeed  _not_ alright. Unbeknownst to Harry, both Potter spirits decided to take a small cruise into the third floor corridor that night.  

\----------------------- 

     Harry woke up the next morning tired and groggy. He had been plagued the entire night with nightmares of Aunt Marge's dogs chasing him up a tree, except they had three heads and Harry kept falling down the tree. Right before the bite came, he would wake up pale-faced and clammy, then fall asleep again, only for the process to repeat. 

     By the time Harry was ready, he was prepared to fall back into bed. Even so, he knew he had to go to class, or else someone would suspect that there was something wrong with him. He didn't need people suspecting him. Just as he was about to head out with his roommates, James and Lily told him to stay back. Making an excuse that he was missing something and would catch up with them, Harry stayed behind. As soon as the door shut, Harry sat back down on the bed and looked at his parents expectantly.  

     "So, why the sudden intervention?" Harry asked. He knew that they only did interventions if they were particularly worried about him. Once he reached a decade of life, they stopped fussing over him every second and only continued interventions when he really needed them, such as after a beating.  

     James and Lily looked at each other, then Lily looked at him. "Do you remember how to cast a basic privacy spell?" 

     Harry nodded. While his wandless magic had been too weak to allow him to use privacy spells when he was younger, he still clearly remembered the incantation. As soon as he had cast it, James started yelling profanities and Lily kept hitting him every time a particularly rude curse exited his mouth.  

     "That moronic old fool doesn't even realize the fucking, " hit, "danger that he's putting his students in. The fucking, " hit, "philosopher's stone!? What in that old insane bastard's, " hit, "mind made him think that the only philosopher's stone in existence would be safe in a fucking, " hit, "school in the middle of Scotland!?" 

     Harry stared in confusion as James continued to yell curse words left and right until his mum finally admonished his dad for having so little self-control.  

     "But Lily!," James yelled. "He shouldn't be allowed to have something so dangerous, especially not if that's actually what that thief from Gringotts is after!"  

     "Okay, James, but there's better ways of dealing with your anger than yelling," Lily said calmly. Much to her dismay, both her husband and her son gave similar scoffs and grinned at each other right afterwards.  

     "Mum, you're no better than dad," Harry said with a genuine half-smile, the first signs of returning warmth after the day before.  

     Lily looked as if she were going to say something, but Harry was already moving on from the topic when she opened her mouth.  

     "What's so dangerous about this philosopher's stone that you guys keep talking about?" Harry asked out of curiousty. 

     Lily narrowed her eyes, but merely sighed when Harry gave her an innocent-faced expression. "The philosopher's stone, first and foremost," she started, "is a legend." 

     James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Lil', I think we got that." 

     Lily glared at her husband before sighing and turning back towards her son. She sat on the floor, cross-legged as she began her explanation. She told Harry about the Philosopher's Stone's abilities to keep someone alive, and to turn any substance into gold. She told him about Nicholas Flamel's achievements in creating the stone, and the power he wields with it. She also explained the danger that the Flamels constantly face when dealing with the stone, and Harry begins to realize that perhaps his father's statements, past the cursing, are more accurate than he feels comfortable admitting.  

     "So Dumbledore has the Philosopher's stone hidden inside of Hogwarts. Why?" Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "It doesn't make sense. Yeah, Hogwarts is fairly protected, but it's also a school. It's not meant to protect something like that." 

     "Exactly, prongslet, and that's what we're trying to find out," James stated with a nod of his head. "The old fool has been making ridiculous decisions for the past several decades now, but this is perhaps the most ridiculous of them all. I'm surprised the Flamels didn't try to stop him, what with him acting like an overall moron." 

     Harry thought that James was definitely correct, but what plans did Dumbledore have that he's putting the entire student body, as well as the staff, in danger? 

^^*^*^^*^*^^*^*^^*^*^^ 

     The rest of the day went just as well as Harry expected it to go with his sleep deprivation. He couldn't focus in any of his classes and was falling asleep by the time lunch rolled around. It was only by pure determination that Harry managed to stay awake long enough to make it back to his dorm so he could take a nap.  

     Meanwhile, James and Lily Potter decided to take action in recent incidents. They know their son. They know he's strong, but he's also had traumatic experiences with the Dursleys. Unfortunately for anyone that dared trigger their son's trauma, they were unwilling to let anything fly by. That was why, while Harry slept, they both decided to enter Dumbledore's office.  

     While they did expect to find Dumbledore there, they did not expect to find Severus Snape sitting on the other side of the desk. 

     "Albus, there's something going on with him. The man has his occlumency shields up constantly, and goes out at night several times a month. Why are we not keeping a closer eye on him?" Snape said as he brought his tea up to his mouth. 

     Dumbledore's eyebrows furrowed. "Well, it seems that you're keeping a good eye on him by yourself, Severus."  

     A normal human might not have noticed the way that the Potions Master's eye gave a microscopic twitch, but the Potters were neither normal nor human. "Albus, I can't keep a constant eye on him. We need to watch him. In the past month, he's displayed signs of paranoia and suspicious behavior all over the place. If anyone so much as mentions his turban, he runs away in terror." 

      Dumbledore relaxed and leaned back in his chair. "Perhaps, my boy, it may just be trauma. After all, you've heard the rumors running amok about the man's disastrous trip to Albania, have you not?" 

     " _Rumors_ , Albus. Perhaps your overly trusting Gryffindor nature can accept them as fact, but I cannot. Quirrell is up to something, but he's keeping his cards close," Snape replied with a frown. "I do not want him endangering the students, and, if this has anything to do with the Dark Lord, I especially do not want him targeting my Slytherins."  

    Lily smiled slightly as she listened to the man show a protective nature that, even now, he seemed to bury under layers of sarcasm, harshness, and cruel words. Meanwhile, James gaped at the man. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The man had never once cared for what happened to anyone outside of Slytherin house during their years at Hogwarts, and now he not only seemed determined to protect the students from harm, but those of his own house from delusion as well.  

     Dumbledore seemed to have similar thoughts. "It comes as quite a surprise to learn about how protective you have become of your pupils," he stated as his eyes twinkled.  

     "Well, they may all be dunderheads, but they're only children. Children do not deserve to become involved in the fights of their parents and grandparents," Snape replied with a scowl.  

     Dumbledore sighed. "I know, Severus, but I cannot just suspect Quirinus without evidence. As you said, my boy, he is keeping his cards close. I can only hope that he makes some error. My biggest fear is that he may be the one targeting the stone. Hagrid's dog is frightening, yes, but it will not keep out a wizard." 

     "Then why not strengthen the protections in that corridor, Albus? It would significantly improve security. You already know my thoughts on the current protections. They are ineffective and any wizard with common sense could make their way through all of them, except perhaps those belonging to Minerva and I," Snape said. James scowled at the arrogance, but had to admit, after seeing what exactly protected that corridor, that he was not exactly  _wrong._   

     "Do not worry, my boy. I have a plan in mind," Dumbledore stated with a twinkle in his eye.  

     Both Potters, as well as Snape, could not keep away the weight of worry that seemed to manifest itself in the corner of their minds.  


	18. Please Read

Hello, everyone! Sorry to disappoint, but this isn't an update =( I honestly wish it were. I told everyone I would edit and continue this. Instead, I'm starting it as a rewrite. If anyone is interested in beta reading and bouncing off ideas with me for the rewrite of this story, I am looking for the beta reader. I'm pretty busy, so I'm not going to be demanding chunks of time out of your day. (Or week. Or year, really.) I would really appreciate it. I understand if no one wants to volunteer for the task, and will still be rewriting and posting without a beta, but if anyone could help me out, I would _really, really_ appreciate it. I'm a junior standing college student, so I'm pretty busy. That means it takes me longer to write, and, in turn, I won't be taking so much time out of your own more than likely busy life. To everyone else, I swear I am working on this. It's taking me a while, but I would at least like to be ahead by several chapters before I start updating, so I already have backup posts for when I can't post. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for sticking around for this story. My life the past year has just been very hectic, but I'm really excited to get you guys back into this story. I'm sorry for not posting the rewrite sooner or giving you guys an update until now. You guys deserved to know that I was still updating. It means so much to me that people are still reading despite how long it's been since I updated. I hope the rewrite is better and more well-written than this version. Thank you once again, and have a good day!


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